US President Donald Trump praised Pakistan’s leadership for supporting Washington’s Gaza peace initiative, describing the country as an early and committed backer of the proposal.
Speaking at the White House on Monday, shortly after unveiling a 20-point plan to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Trump singled out Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, for their support.
“The prime minister and the field marshal of Pakistan, they were with us right from the beginning. They just put out a statement that they fully believe in this pact,” Trump told reporters. He added: “It just came out as I was walking around. They (officials) said, ‘Sir you have a big notice from the prime minister of Pakistan and from the field marshal’ that they back this 100%.”
Trump also acknowledged the contributions of several Arab and Muslim leaders, including those from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey and Indonesia, who he said played a role in shaping the plan for what Washington calls “New Gaza”.
Shehbaz Sharif later posted on X that a durable peace between Palestinians and Israelis was essential for both regional stability and economic growth.
Former US President Donald Trump has separately proposed a peace plan that would halt the Gaza war immediately if accepted by both Israel and Hamas. Under the proposal, hostages and prisoners from both sides would be released, and Hamas disarmed. The group would release all Israeli hostages, dead or alive, within 72 hours of Israel’s acceptance. In turn, Israel would free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans detained after the conflict began on 7 October 2023. Israeli forces would also begin withdrawing, with military operations suspended and battle lines frozen.
In a related development, Trump last week again praised Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir ahead of their Oval Office meeting. "We have a great leader coming, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Field Marshal. Field Marshal is a very great guy, and so is the Prime Minister, both, and they're coming, and they may be in this room right now," he said.
The meeting, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, underscored growing US-Pakistan engagement. Sharif and Munir travelled briefly to Washington DC from New York for the talks.
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