Pakistan’s alignment with Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ has triggered sharp rebukes from opposition heavyweights, plunging the nation into a heated debate over its Middle East stance. The Senate has become a battleground, with critics decrying the decision as a sellout of Palestinian sovereignty.
Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, opposition leader in the upper house, unleashed a blistering critique on X. He called the board a sham reconstruction body that masks an assault on Palestinian autonomy. ‘Entrusting outsiders with Gaza’s rebuild, security, and governance is pure neo-imperialism,’ Abbas wrote, predicting it would weaken self-determination rights.
From its launch as a narrow post-massacre aid mechanism, the board’s ambitions have ballooned, Abbas noted, deliberately circumventing UN processes. This shift, he alleged, reveals a plot to marginalize international bodies.
Joining the fray, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar of the Constitution Protection Movement lambasted the government’s unilateral action. ‘No parliamentary nod, no public input – this is governance by stealth,’ he raged on social media.
Khokhar dissected the board’s structure: Trump’s unchecked powers to appoint, fire members, dictate terms, and control proceedings. The $1 billion permanent seat fee, he mocked, transforms it into a ‘rich man’s exclusive enclave,’ undermining equitable peace efforts.
Seasoned diplomat Maleeha Lodhi weighed in, labeling the choice foolhardy. Trump, she said, uses the platform to legitimize solo decisions, with a scope dwarfing Gaza alone. ‘Overlooking these dangers invites diplomatic pitfalls,’ Lodhi cautioned.
Contextually, this follows the Foreign Office’s pledge to engage via UNSC 2803 for Gaza’s truce, aid surge, and reconstruction.
The uproar exposes rifts in Pakistan’s polity, pitting pro-engagement factions against sovereignty advocates. As voices amplify, it raises questions about balancing alliances with principled stands on global conflicts, with long-term implications for Islamabad’s regional credibility.