Pakistan has not recognised Israel, joined peace board only for Palestine: Ahsan Iqbal

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal clarified that Pakistan has not recognised Israel; it joined the Board of Peace for peace in Palestine. However, he said this has greatly upset India and the opposition in Pakistan.

Addressing a public rally in Narowal on Sunday, Iqbal said Pakistan’s participation in the US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace was limited to efforts aimed at peace in Palestine but the move has caused “deep discomfort” among his political rivals.

He said the opposition and India reacted negatively whenever Pakistan made progress, including with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Whenever there is a successful IMF programme, PTI and India become uneasy. PTI’s language mirrors India’s, but Pakistan will continue to move forward,” he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was in Davos to sign the charter of the board as part of efforts to support the implementation of the Gaza Peace Plan, joined other world leaders in endorsing the initiative. Trump launched the Board of Peace, initially focused on cementing the Gaza ceasefire, on Thursday.

Pakistan was among the countries invited to join the board. The announcement to join the body was strongly criticised by opposition lawmakers who assailed the government for carrying out such a move without parliamentary input.

Read More: PM Shehbaz, other global leaders sign charter

The minister accused opposition leaders of spreading false allegations and said they were now facing the consequences of their actions. “Those who called others thieves looted the national economy of Rs60 billion and are today serving a 14-year sentence,” he said.

Iqbal said former prime minister Imran Khan had “poisoned politics with hatred” and accused his government of mismanaging the economy. “Someone who never ran even a union council was made prime minister, and he destroyed the economy. The PTI government left behind such a massive deficit that it was difficult for anyone to manage,” he said.

He said Pakistan was now being congratulated globally for the successful revival of its economy. “If Pakistan had gone bankrupt, we could not have won the battle of truth,” he said, adding that Pakistan had responded to Indian aggression in a manner “without precedent in history”.

Iqbal said the country was investing in youth development, including providing laptops and sending 1,000 agricultural experts to China to learn modern farming techniques. “We are not distributing goats and chickens; we are equipping our youth with skills and technology,” he said.

He also promised to turn Fatuwal in Narowal district into the country’s largest flower-producing area and said Pakistan currently enjoyed exemplary relations with friendly countries. “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is respected across the world,” he said.

Referring to Punjab, Iqbal said the province was witnessing “unprecedented development” under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, contrasting it with what he described as poor governance during the tenure of former chief minister Usman Buzdar.

What is Trump's 'Board of Peace'?

Trump first proposed the Board of Peace last September when he announced his plan to end the Gaza conflict. He later made clear the board's remit would be expanded beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide.

The US president will be ‌the inaugural chairman of the board and it will ‍be tasked with promoting peace ‌around the world and working to resolve conflicts.

Also Read: Trump launches ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza ceasefire

Member ⁠states would be limited to three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion ​each to fund the board's activities and earn permanent membership, the charter says.

The White House has named US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as members of the initiative's founding Executive Board.