- US President Trump launched the Board of Peace at Davos to oversee Gaza ceasefire and global conflicts
- Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif signed the Board of Peace charter to support ceasefire and aid for Palestinians
- Sharif had opposed Trump's 2020 Middle East peace plan, calling it biased and unjust
US President Donald Trump launched the "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos on January 22. Although it was originally proposed in 2025 as a mechanism to oversee the ceasefire and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, it is now supposed to expand to also address global conflicts.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed Trump's Board of Peace charter in Davos along with other world leaders and views its participation as a way to support a permanent ceasefire and scale up humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.
However, Trump's "Peace to Prosperity" plan for the Middle East in 2020 was strongly opposed by Sharif, who was then the Leader of Opposition in Pakistan's National Assembly.
The Pakistani leader branded the "peace plan" as "unjust, biased and oppressive" and said that it was right torn into pieces by the Palestinians.
On January 29, 2020. Sharif wrote on X, "President Trump's Middle East Peace Plan essentially legitimizes Israeli annexation of Jerusalem & illegal settlements on the land of Palestinians."
Moreover, Pakistan's decision to join the "Board of Peace" has triggered sharp domestic backlash from the country.
Criticism For Pakistan Joining Peace Board
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf does not accept the Government of Pakistan's decision to join the 'Board of Peace'," said the party headed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
The party emphasises that decisions of such international significance must always be undertaken with full transparency and inclusive consultation with all major political stakeholders, it said in a statement.
It said that Pakistan's participation in any international peace initiative should complement and reinforce the UN's multilateral system, rather than creating parallel structures that could dilute or complicate global governance.
"PTI calls upon the Government of Pakistan to withdraw any formal participation in the 'Board of Peace' until a complete consultative process has been conducted," it said.
Pakistani journalist and writer Zahid Hussain questioned whether the country only wants to be in "Trump's good books". He told Dawn, that it was the "most disastrous thing" for Pakistan to do.
"So Pakistan will be sitting with Israel on this "board of piece" - very perpetrators of the Palestinian Holocaust? What a disgrace," author and activist Fatima Bhutto said.
Activist Ammar Ali Jan was shocked at Pakistan's decision because he said it was neither debated in the media nor in the parliament. "Shameful betrayal by the regime!", Ali Jan wrote on X.
"At a time when the world is shocked at Trump's erratic decisions, Pakistan has chosen to join his "Board of Peace", a necolonial arrangement to continue the occupation of Palestine", he wrote.
