More than two years have passed over the horrific and inhumane bloodshed ongoing in Gaza, during which more than 72,000 innocent Palestinians have lost their lives, and numerous international forums, extraordinary sessions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly, and warrants of the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu have remained unable to demonstrate practical effectiveness in halting this grave tragedy.
Against this backdrop of stalemate, helplessness, and institutional failure, the establishment of the “Peace Board” has emerged in the prevailing objective circumstances as an alternative, dynamic, and relatively effective diplomatic and military framework.
The formation of the Peace Board is being regarded not merely as a formal step but as an urgent and decisive arrangement, endorsed by Security Council Resolution 2803 and considered aligned with the legal latitude for regional arrangements under Chapter 8 of the United Nations Charter. Critics, including myself, view it as a partial deviation from international legal standards and criticize it in the context of imbalance in representation; however, from a logical standpoint, many circles consider it an indispensable and temporary arrangement for the Gaza crisis that possesses the capacity to make the ceasefire sustainable through a combination of practical implementation, military oversight, and political pressure.
The most prominent aspect of this Board is that it enjoys the patronage of the highest leadership of the world’s most powerful state—leadership that holds decisive military and political influence globally. The participation of approximately 40 countries and observers in the inaugural meeting gave it the form of a broad-based diplomatic platform. Announcements of immediate aid amounting to 7 billion dollars were made at the meeting, while the host leadership pledged an additional 10 billion dollars; subsequently, according to reports, the total pledges reached 17 billion dollars. In the next phase, additional funding from Gulf states and international financial institutions, along with the establishment of a special reconstruction fund, is being anticipated.
The proposed 20-point framework of the Peace Board includes an immediate and effective ceasefire, the phased disarmament of Hamas, international monitoring, and the comprehensive reconstruction of Gaza. Five countries have expressed readiness to provide military contingents for the stabilization force, while a strategy of maintaining control over ground realities through an eight-country military presence is under consideration, and had this multilateral pressure and military oversight been implemented earlier, the loss of hundreds of lives in recent months could have been prevented.
In this context, Pakistan’s participation assumes special significance, as Pakistan, as a responsible and dignified Muslim state, has historically maintained an unwavering position in support of the Palestinian right to self-determination, with roots dating back to 1948. It is also noteworthy that if Pakistan were to play an immediate and active role in the stabilization force, then just as Pakistan’s foreign policy has taken flight on the global stage since the battle for truth, this strategy too could signal a bright and splendid geopolitical advantage in the future. Overall, the Peace Board is being presented as a bold, unconventional, and results-oriented initiative—a platform that, in contrast to the slow-paced diplomacy of the United Nations, seeks to alter ground realities through a combination of immediate implementation, financial resource mobilization, and military oversight. However, its success will depend on transparent representation, impartial implementation, Palestinian political inclusion, and concrete progress toward a sustainable state solution, and only in that case will genuine relief for the displaced and oppressed Palestinians of Gaza be possible, who even in the blessed month of Ramadan are compelled to observe their sacred fasts for suhoor and iftar atop piles of rubble. It is imperative to support the Gaza Board of Peace in order to save Gaza from bloodshed and to lay the foundation for a future for the Palestinians that is free from Israel’s bloody attacks and ground and aerial bombardment, and where the safety of their lives and those of their children can be guaranteed. If countries that possess a sense of moral responsibility—particularly the Arab states—do not actively and wholeheartedly participate in this matter, then tomorrow their own turn may also come.
