The United States (US) has invited Pakistan to attend the maiden meeting of President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” which will be held in Washington on February 19, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday, quoting diplomatic sources.
The sources further said Pakistan will soon take a decision regarding participation in the first meeting of Board of Peace.
Earlier, the White House is planning to host a leaders’ summit of the Gaza “Board of Peace” on February 19 to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire and raise funding for reconstruction in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
“It will be the first Board of Peace meeting and a fundraising conference for Gaza reconstruction,” US officials said.
The Trump administration has begun reaching out to dozens of countries to invite leaders and discuss logistics. The meeting is expected to be held at the Institute of Peace in Washington.
“Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the administration is planning it and has started checking which leaders are able to attend,” one source told Axios website.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Feb 18, a day before the planned gathering. Netanyahu has accepted Trump’s invitation for Israel to join the board but has not yet signed its charter.
If Netanyahu attends, it would mark his first public meeting alongside Arab and Muslim leaders including from Pakistan since before the Oct 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas and subsequent Israeli genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The summit plans remain in early stages and could change. The White House declined to comment.
The unveiling of the board last month was met with widespread skepticism. Most Western allies didn't join, in part because the charter gives the board a broad mandate and Trump sole the veto over its decisions.
Some allies felt Trump was trying to set up an alternative UN Security Council.
The board currently has 27 members and is chaired by Trump. The UN Security Council authorized it to oversee the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire and work on governance and reconstruction.
The Trump administration started reaching out to dozens of countries on Friday to invite their leaders and discuss logistics.
The Trump administration and the other mediators — Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — are in the early stages of trying to reach a demilitarization agreement with Hamas.
Israel has said that without demilitarization, it will not withdraw its forces from Gaza or allow reconstruction.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said at a Security Council meeting last week that the US wants to launch an "agreed process of decommissioning of weapons."
"All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon-production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt," he said.
Reporter Anwer Abbas/Agencies