• FO says discussions ongoing; Islamabad has not been formally requested to deploy troops
• Andrabi, White House say no Munir-Trump meeting planned ‘at this time’
ISLAMABAD: No decision has been taken yet on contributing troops to the planned International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza, the Foreign Office said on Thursday, seeking to quell renewed speculation about Washington’s pressure on Islamabad for joining the mission.
“About Pakistan’s participation in the ISF, we have not taken a decision to participate in ISF as yet,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said at the weekly media briefing.
ISF forms a key component of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza conflict, a 20-point framework announced in September that facilitated a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October.
On Nov 17, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution, with Russia and China abstaining, endorsing the plan and authorising the establishment of the ISF as a temporary multinational force to support security, demilitarisation, and reconstruction in Gaza. Pakistan had supported the resolution.
The FO spokesperson’s clarification on Pakistan’s possible contribution to ISF came amid growing conjecture that the Trump administration is stepping up pressure on Pakistan to commit troops to the force.
Those reports were fuelled by a Reuters report, which claimed that Field Marshal Asim Munir — in his capacity as both army chief and chief of defence forces — was expected to travel to Washington in the coming weeks for talks with President Trump, with the Gaza stabilisation force likely to feature prominently on the agenda.
Asked about the report, Mr Andrabi was initially noncommittal on whether such a visit was in the works. When pressed, he pushed back against the suggestion that the trip had been finalised.
“On the visit of the chief of army staff/chief of defence forces, as reported by Reuters, I can contradict the Reuters story in its essence that it seemed to suggest that the visit has been planned and there is a finality about it. So, I am contradicting that,” he said.
“We would wait for an official announcement from the government of Pakistan in the event of such a visit. Our political and military leadership visits different capitals, and when an official visit is organised, an official announcement is made prior to it, which in this case, has not been made.”
Meanwhile, the White House also said that no meeting had been scheduled. “This is not on the President’s calendar at this time,” a White House official said on background, responding to an Arab News query about a possible Trump-Munir meeting.
On the ISF itself, Mr Andrabi said discussions were continuing internationally but emphasised that Pakistan had not received any formal request to deploy troops.
“The discussion on ISF is ongoing in certain capitals. I am not aware of any specific requests made to Pakistan to send troops. As stated, we have not taken any decision on this subject as yet,” he said.
The spokesman’s remarks appeared to contrast with earlier comments by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who had said Pakistan was ready “in principle” to contribute to the force, subject to clarity on its mandate and terms of reference.
“We are definitely ready to contribute to the force; the prime minister has in principle already announced after consultation with the field marshal that we will contribute, but this decision cannot be taken until it is decided what its (ISF) mandate and TOR (terms of reference) will be,” Mr Dar said a few weeks ago.
Mr Dar had also drawn a red line over any role involving disarmament of Hamas. “We are not ready for that (disarmament of Hamas). This is not our job, but of the Palestinian law enforcement agencies. Our job is peacekeeping, not peace enforcement,” he said, adding that Indonesia had expressed similar reservations.
Dar noted that Indonesia had offered 20,000 troops and that PM Shehbaz Sharif had signalled that Pakistan would positively consider participation in principle.
It may be noted that the US Central Command hosted a conference in Qatar on Tuesday with dozens of partner countries to discuss ISF’s command structure and other unresolved operational issues. Pakistan was among nearly 45 countries attending the meeting.
The US State Department has formally approached more than 70 countries seeking troops or funding for the proposed force. Some 19 countries have reportedly so far indicated willingness to assist through troops, logistics, or equipment, with international deployment in Gaza potentially beginning as early as next month.
