(MENAFN) Pakistan has not yet reached a decision on sending its troops to Gaza as part of an international stabilization mission under a US-brokered peace plan, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Tuesday.

“This thing has to be finalized, (and) it is in process. The government will take a decision after passing through the process, and I don’t want to preempt it,” Asif told reports. He emphasized that the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will involve parliament and other institutions before making a final determination.

The deployment would fall under a phased ceasefire plan between Hamas and Israel, implemented on October 10 as part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace initiative. Phase one of the agreement calls for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, partial Israeli withdrawals, reconstruction of Gaza, and the establishment of a new governing mechanism excluding Hamas, including a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF).

Although Indonesia and Malaysia have pledged to send peacekeepers, details regarding Pakistan’s potential participation remain unsettled. Since October 2023, the ongoing conflict in Gaza has claimed over 68,500 lives and left more than 170,300 people injured, according to local health authorities.

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