- Invitation extended by US President Donald Trump in January.
- The final decision on the Prime Minister’s participation will be made in the coming days.
- The initiative seeks reconstruction, stability and a lasting UN-backed solution in Gaza.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to attend the first meeting of leaders of the US-initiated Gaza “Peace Board” in Washington on February 19, according to sources familiar with the matter.
This development follows an invitation extended by US President Donald Trump to Pakistan to join the Gaza Peace Board, which the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed on January 18, 2026.
Sources, however, said a final decision on Prime Minister Shehbaz’s participation in the international debate, which will be chaired by the US President at the Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace, would be taken in the coming days.
“Pakistan will attend. The invitation has been sent to the Prime Minister and he is expected to attend. Consultations are continuing and in a few days the government will make an announcement. It is an important event.” The news reported, citing diplomatic sources.
Last month, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan would continue to participate in international efforts aimed at peace and security in Gaza.
“Pakistan will remain committed to international efforts for peace and security in Gaza, leading to a lasting solution to the question of Palestine in accordance with United Nations resolutions,” he said.
Pakistan has reiterated in international forums its willingness to play a “constructive role” in the US peace plan for Palestine.
In December 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan’s civil and military leaders were fully aligned on not sending troops to Gaza to disarm Hamas.
The planned meeting was first reported by axioswho said the meeting would also serve as a fundraising conference for the reconstruction of Gaza.
“We can confirm that the Peace Board meeting is scheduled for February 19,” the official said in a statement to Reuters. Further questions were referred to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The meeting would be held at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, axios reported.
At least one world leader has confirmed his participation. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of Trump’s closest allies in the European Union, said at a campaign event Saturday in the western town of Szombathely that he would travel to Washington in two weeks to attend the Peace Board meeting.
In late January, Trump inaugurated the board he will chair and which he says will aim to resolve global conflicts, leading some experts to worry that such a board could undermine the United Nations.
Ceasefire violations in Gaza
Governments around the world have reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation to join the initiative. While some of Washington’s allies in the Middle East have joined in, many of its traditional Western allies have so far stayed on the sidelines. Permanent board membership costs $1 billion.
A U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in mid-November authorized the junta and countries working with it to establish an international stabilization force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump plan that Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed on to.
Under Trump’s plan for Gaza, revealed late last year, the junta was to oversee the temporary governance of Gaza. Trump later said it would be expanded to address global conflicts.
A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the planned Peace Board meeting.
Many rights experts say Trump overseeing a board to oversee the affairs of a foreign territory resembled a colonial structure and have criticized the board for not including a Palestinian.
The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly violated, and more than 550 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce began in October.
