Pakistan presses UN for enforcement of Gaza peace roadmap

Ambassador Asim Iftikhar highlights mass destruction, displacement and stalled Israeli withdrawal

UNITED NATIONS:

As Gaza's fragile ceasefire continues to unravel and humanitarian conditions worsen, Pakistan has called for the full implementation of the United Nations Security Council-backed peace plan aimed at stabilising and rebuilding the war-ravaged enclave.

Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told the 15-member Security Council that years of devastating conflict had inflicted an unbearable toll, warning that fragile gains since the October 2025 ceasefire now hung in the balance.

The Security Council met on Thursday to debate the situation in the Middle East. In his address, Ambassador Ahmad welcomed ongoing efforts under United States President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, described as an international coalition working towards lasting peace and reconstruction in Gaza.

Resolution 2803, adopted last November, endorsed the US peace plan to end the conflict, authorising the Board of Peace as a transitional authority and supporting an International Stabilisation Force, paving the way for an Israeli withdrawal.

According to the Board's first report, active fighting has largely ceased and food security for Palestinians has improved, yet "there is no recovery in Gaza". It noted that around 80% of buildings in the enclave had been damaged or destroyed, while more than one million people remained without permanent shelter.

The report added that work and water remained scarce, while health and education systems were yet to be rebuilt. Civilians, it said, continued to be killed, families lived in fear, and movement restrictions further obstructed daily life.

The withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, required under the ceasefire, has yet to take place. Israeli restrictions and delays in humanitarian aid delivery, the report said, were shaping perceptions among Palestinians about whether the war had truly ended.

Commenting on the situation, Ambassador Ahmad said the Board's report correctly warned that continued violations risked undoing fragile gains.