Pakistan’s military chief and de facto leader, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is expected to fly to Washington in the coming weeks for his third meeting with President Donald Trump in six months. The focus of the visit, according to a Reuters report, will be Trump’s request that Pakistan contribute troops to a proposed International Stabilization Force in Gaza.
The idea for an ISF is part of the U.S.-brokered 20-point peace plan that ended the devastating two-year war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas in October. It calls for “Arab and international partners” to provide troops who will “work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas” and train “vetted” Palestinian security forces.
Pakistan has already signaled its readiness to participate in the ISF, and Munir has been consulting with states such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar about what the force will look like, per Reuters. However, many of these governments—including Pakistan—have balked at the prospect of their troops being called upon to disarm Hamas.
