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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday confirmed that Pakistan has offered to send troops for the proposed International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza, as part of President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan framework, for peacebuilding in the conflict-hit region.
Responding to questions on whether Pakistan has formally consented to participate, Rubio said, "We're very grateful to Pakistan for their offer to be a part of it, or at least their offer to consider being a part of it. I think we owe them a few more answers before we can ask anybody to firmly commit." He further expressed confidence that multiple nations have indicated their willingness to contribute to the stabilisation force for the peacebuilding effort. "But I feel very confident that we have a number of nation-states acceptable to all sides in this conflict who are willing to step forward and be a part of that stabilisation force," Rubio added. Meanwhile, Pakistan has said that it has not yet decided whether to contribute troops to the proposed ISF for Gaza, Dawn reported. In a weekly press briefing on Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson, Tahir Hussain Andrabi, said, "Regarding Pakistan's participation in the ISF, no decision has been taken to join the force as of now," as quoted by Dawn. The ISF is one of the central elements of Trump's 20-point plan, which helped facilitate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October. On November 17, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution endorsing the plan and authorising the formation of the ISF as a temporary multinational force to assist with security, demilitarisation, and reconstruction in Gaza. Russia and China abstained, while Pakistan supported the resolution. As per Dawn, the Foreign Office's statement comes amid growing speculation that the Trump administration may be pressing Pakistan to commit troops to the ISF. (ANI)
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