Defence Minister Asif defends move to join Trump's 'Board of Peace' amid criticism
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif during an interview. Photo: Reuters/ File
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif defended Pakistan's move to join United States President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" on Wednesday amid criticism of the action as being "unwise" and "indefensible".
The move was announced earlier today by the Foreign Office. Other countries that have accepted the invitation to join the board include Indonesia, Israel, Turkiye, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The proposed board would be chaired for life by Trump and would initially focus on the Gaza conflict before expanding its remit to other wars. Member countries would be required to pay a $1 billion fee to secure permanent membership.
Speaking about the matter in an interview on Capital Talk on a private news broadcaster, the defence minister said the gathering of the countries invited to the board was a large one and Pakistan should be a part of any such grouping and its conclusions.
"There is a greater chance of us becoming irrelevant in whatever is decided by remaining absent from this forum. If we are present there, we will be able to better raise our voice for our Palestinian brethren."
He said Gaza would be the focal foreign policy issue discussed on the platform. "Pakistan should fully use this forum," Asif added.
The comments came in the wake of criticism by other politicians such as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir, who denounced the government’s decision as “morally incorrect and indefensible, both on principle and on policy”.
Taking to X, the senator said the initiative was problematic from the outset. “Conceived as an externally managed arrangement for post-war Gaza, it effectively removes the right of governance from the Palestinian people themselves,” he said.
“By placing reconstruction, security and political oversight in the hands of outside actors, the project carries the unmistakable imprint of a neo-colonial enterprise. Such frameworks rarely end at administration. Trump’s initiative will, over time, erode the very right to self-determination it claims to safeguard.”
I denounce the government’s decision to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace as it is morally incorrect and indefensible, both on principle and on policy.
The initiative was problematic from the outset. Conceived as an externally managed arrangement for post-war Gaza,…Senator Nasir expressed particular concern over Pakistan’s participation. “What makes Pakistan’s participation more troubling is that an initiative initially sold as a limited mechanism for rebuilding after the genocide in Gaza is now being openly expanded. Statements by its principal sponsor and the contents of its draft charter suggest ambitions well beyond Palestine, with little regard for the United Nations. The absence of clear UN oversight and the board’s widening mandate point towards an attempt to supplant, or at the very least marginalise, the existing multilateral system.”
He added that by lending its name to the project, “Pakistan appears to endorse a structure that sidelines the UN and replaces international law with a personalised political platform. This sits uneasily with Islamabad’s own reliance on multilateral forums and UN resolutions, particularly on issues such as Kashmir, where Pakistan consistently argues for the primacy of international legality.”
The Senate opposition leader further criticised the apparent inconsistency in Pakistan’s foreign policy. “Pakistan cannot credibly uphold UN centrality where it suits its interests while participating in initiatives that weaken the institution elsewhere. Nor does this alignment serve the Palestinian cause, which has always rested on the principles of self-determination and UN-backed legitimacy, not externally imposed governance models.”
He concluded by warning of long-term consequences: “Foreign policy decisions driven by short-term calculation often produce lasting consequences. By associating itself with a project that undermines both Palestinian agency and the UN system, Pakistan risks diluting its moral standing and strategic coherence. It is a decision Pakistan will regret.”
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said he rejected the government's move.
"Trump’s Board of Peace is a new form of colonialism, which includes criminals like Tony Blair who were responsible for the destruction of Iraq. The Board of Peace is a new system aimed at seizing Palestinian land and resources. The American occupation of Gaza under the pretext of reconstruction is unacceptable.
"The stance taken by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs — that Pakistan announced support for the Gaza peace plan under a United Nations Security Council resolution — is contrary to the facts. Trump himself has stated that his Board of Peace could one day replace the United Nations. After such a position by Trump, what justification is there for Pakistan’s participation in this board? We once again state very clearly that Pakistan’s armed forces must not, under any circumstances, be sent to Gaza."
We reject the government’s decision to include Pakistan in Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace.” Trump’s Board of Peace is a new form of colonialism, which includes criminals like Tony Blair who were responsible for the destruction of Iraq. The Board of Peace is a new system… pic.twitter.com/mqM7boIoaN
Former UN envoy and ambassador Maleeha Lodhi slammed the move as an "unwise decision for many reasons".
Former human rights minister Shireen Mazari echoed her thoughts on the move.
Absolutely. A very unwise decision. https://t.co/OMhVJX0fFi
Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the decision to join without any public debate or input by Parliament "smacks of the disregard this regime has of the Pakistani nation".
Pakistan’s decision to join “Board of peace” without any public debate or input by the parliament smacks of the disregard this regime has of the Pakistani nation. The decision is wrong on following counts ;
1) The so called “board of peace” is a colonial enterprise to not only…