UNITED NATIONS, Jan 28: Pakistan informed the UN Security Council on Wednesday of its decision to join the US-led Board of Peace (BoP) in backing its mandate under resolution 2803 from the 15-member body. This resolution reaffirms the commitment to achieving lasting peace based on Palestinian self-determination and statehood in accordance with international law.
“The international community, especially this Council, has the duty to turn renewed engagement into tangible changes on the ground for the benefit of the Palestinian people,” stated Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, during a debate about the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, coinciding with the 26-member Board’s announcement.
He emphasized that the unresolved Palestinian issue is central to the instability in the Middle East, highlighting that decades of Israeli occupation have led to dispossession, repression, and the denial of Palestinian self-determination rights.
Noting the beginning of the second phase of the Peace Plan—which involves the establishment of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) and the BoP and Executive Committees—he called these “important steps.” According to the Pakistani envoy, these measures should now help solidify the ceasefire, secure a permanent cessation of hostilities, facilitate transitional arrangements, enable recovery and reconstruction, ensure large-scale humanitarian aid, and lay the groundwork for a sustainable political process towards Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
Concurrently, Ambassador Asim Ahmad expressed deep concern about the fragile situation in Gaza, where ceasefire violations persist and civilian lives remain at risk. “Increased pressure on international humanitarian organizations, including deregistration measures and restrictions on humanitarian operations, are obstructing assistance and protection for the most vulnerable,” he said.
The Pakistani envoy also strongly opposed Israel’s ongoing attacks on UN premises and UNRWA, its agency for assisting Palestinians, such as the recent demolition of the UN compound in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem. He stated that such actions undermine stabilization efforts and threaten the limited progress achieved so far, emphasizing that “UNRWA’s operations are essential and must be safeguarded.”
Pakistan, along with other Arab and Islamic countries in the group of 8, has entered the Board of Peace to support its mandate as endorsed by Security Council resolution 2803. He referred to a joint statement by the group’s foreign ministers reiterating their support for peace efforts led by US President Donald Trump.
In this statement, the foreign ministers affirmed their commitment to implementing the Peace Board mission, serving as a transitional administration according to the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict and endorsed by resolution 2803. The aim is to consolidate a permanent ceasefire, support Gaza’s reconstruction, and promote a just and lasting peace rooted in Palestinian self-determination and statehood under international law, thereby paving the way for regional security and stability.
In this context, Ambassador Asim Ahmad expressed hope that the BoP, under resolution 2803, will lead to decisive steps towards implementing a permanent ceasefire, increasing humanitarian aid, reconstructing Gaza, and realizing Palestinian self-determination through a credible, time-bound political process. This would result in an independent, sovereign, and contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds and Al-Sharif as its capital.
“That is the ultimate goal supported by the international community. Palestinian-led governance and institutional strengthening—with a central role for the Palestinian Authority—are indispensable in this regard,” the Pakistani envoy concluded.
