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Pakistan has drawn a clear line on Gaza — and it is one that deserves careful consideration by the international community. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated once again in a recent briefing reviewing Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement that Islamabad would consider joining a proposed International Stabilisation Force only if its mandate excludes the disarming of Hamas. Gaza is not a conventional post-conflict zone where stability can be imposed by external force.
Peacekeeping presupposes consent and neutrality. Peace enforcement does not. It carries the danger of turning foreign troops into active participants in a political struggle they neither control nor fully understand. Disarmament, particularly of a group as deeply embedded in Gaza’s political and social fabric as Hamas, cannot credibly be undertaken by an international force without triggering resistance and delegitimising the mission from the outset. This responsibility lies with the Palestinian Authority, or any future representative government. It must emerge from a political process owned by the people it seeks to govern.
External actors may assist in maintaining order, but they cannot dictate outcomes without consequences.Without clear limits, even a force drawn from sympathetic states risks being perceived as partisan. Pakistan’s record in UN peacekeeping lends weight to its caution. Having contributed extensively to missions across continents, Islamabad understands both the utility and the limits of such deployments. Its reluctance to be drawn into enforcement operations is informed by that history, not by indifference to Gaza’s suffering.
Pakistan has signalled willingness to support peace in Gaza. It has also signalled where it will not go. In the current climate, that clarity matters. Gaza does not need another experiment in enforced order. It needs restraint, a political horizon that no foreign force can manufacture and, above all, lasting peace.
