• Source:JND
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Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday took a sharp U-turn from the 20-point Gaza peace plan released by US President Donald Trump on September 30 after meeting leaders of eight Muslim nations. Speaking at a Parliament, Dar said it was “not ours” but insisted that there was no room for politicking on the matter.

“I made it clear that the 20 points that President Trump made public are not ours. Changes were made to our draft. I have the record.” He went on to say, “This is the end result, and there is no room for politicking.”

Trump's 20-point Gaza Peace Plan

Eight Arab and Muslim majority nations on Tuesday welcomed US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza and restore peace in the troubled region.

The plan, unveiled after talks between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, proposes an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the release of all the hostages held by Hamas within 72 hours.

Shehbaz Sharif had praised Trump's plan

Even Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif first welcomed the US plan for Gaza. But later, Deputy PM Ishaq Dar took a U-turn from his own leader’s statement: the plan wouldn't work without changes suggested by eight Muslim countries.

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Explaining the whole episode, Dar said that the eight Arab and Muslim countries met quietly about Gaza during the UN General Assembly (UNGA). During his speech, Dar said that the eight Arab and Muslim countries had come together for a meeting on Gaza on the sidelines of the UNGA.

Ishaq Dar leaks "secrets"

“During the meeting, there was no other agenda. Today I am telling you the details,” he said, adding that it was decided to keep the meetings “discreet”.

He further said that before the main meeting, a preparatory meeting of all the foreign ministers of the eight countries was held in New York, where the situation in Gaza was discussed, Dawn reported.

He said that for his part, US President Trump took this positively and said his team would sit with the foreign ministers to find a “workable solution”. He said Trump also said that he was scheduled to meet Israeli PM Netanyahu soon, and to try and stop the bombardment of Gaza.

ALSO READ: Gaza Peace Plan: First, Shehbaz And Asim Munir Credited Trump For India-Pak Ceasefire; Now, US President Pays Off

He said that Qatar’s embassy was the convener for these meetings, which were not released to the media. “President Trump’s committee also came and open talks were held on what they wanted […]. They gave us a 20-point proposal.”

Dar further said that the ministers took the proposal and decided to deliberate on it for the next 24 hours.

“Instead of making a completely new draft, we decided to remain within this framework and decided to either amend or delete points based on our wish list,” he said. “We held different meetings in the next 24 hours. We were exchanging hard copies in hotel rooms.”

Ishaq Dar's pointless excuse

He said that the final draft prepared by the eight countries, not just Pakistan, was then sent onward as a “counter draft”. He said that two hours after the Pakistani delegation left New York, he received a phone call where he was told that some countries wanted all eight foreign ministers to sign off on the document, while some were saying it was not necessary.

“This was a small thing in my eyes,” Dar said, adding that he asked the majority to make a decision in this regard. “By the time we landed at our next destination, I was told the American side had received the draft.”

He said that during Monday’s meeting between Trump and Netanyahu, a 20-point plan was announced. He said that he then spoke to the Saudi foreign minister, who said that the urgent points put forth by the eight countries were accepte,d but some things still required further engagement.

Quoting the Saudi minister, he said that at that point there were two choices: to continue and perhaps Israel will continue its bloodshed, or we let Trump’s plan be implemented and issue a joint statement.

“I said you are right, we should do this,” he said, adding that the statement was later finalised. Dar then proceeded to read out the joint statement issued on September 29.