Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday signed the charter for the “Board of Peace” headed by United States President Donald Trump.
The body was initially envisioned as a mechanism to address Israel’s war on Gaza, though its charter does not restrict its mandate solely to the occupied Palestinian territory.
The heads of various countries are taking turns to sign the board’s charter at a meeting chaired by Trump in Davos, Switzerland.
“Every one of them are friends of mine. I like every single one of them,” the US president said about the signatories.
“Just about every country wants to be a part of it. We sent out the letters a couple of days ago and countries that are here just happened to be in Davos,” he said.
“Let me recognise the very first group of the distinguished members of the Board of Peace that will be introduced by name in just a moment,” Trump said at the outset of his speech.
“Each and every one of you, we are truly honoured by your presence today. Leaders of countries, in most cases, very popular leaders; in some cases, not so popular,” he added.
Among those seated in the audience was PM Shehbaz, after Pakistan on Wednesday accepted Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace.
During his speech, the US president also said that Hamas must disarm under the Gaza ceasefire deal or it will be the “end” of the Palestinian movement.
“They have to give up their weapons, and if they don’t do that, it’s going to be the end of them,” Trump said.
“We’re committed to ensuring Gaza is demilitarised, properly governed and beautifully rebuilt,” he affirmed, adding that “we can spread out to other things as we succeed with Gaza”.
“Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we’ll do it in conjunction with the UN,” the US president said, adding that the combination of Board of Peace and the United Nations could be “very, very unique for the world”.
Trump recalled that under Phase 1 of the ceasefire plan, “we have painstakingly […] maintained the Gaza ceasefire, delivered record levels of humanitarian aid”.
“We’ve given aid, you know, you used to hear that all the people were starving and it was terrible. You don’t hear that anymore,” he insisted, highlighting the release of 20 Israeli captives and the bodies of most of the deceased ones.
The US president asserted: “The first steps toward a brighter day for the Middle East and a much safer future for the world are unfolding before your very eyes.
“Together we are in a position to have an incredible chance — I don’t even call it a chance, it’s gonna happen — to end decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed and forge a beautiful, everlasting and glorious peace for that region, and for the whole region of the world, because I’m calling the world a region.”
