ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed hope that United States (US) President Donald Trump’s meeting with Muslim leaders this week will bear “encouraging” results for Gaza, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday.
Trump held the multilateral meeting with the leaders of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, Indonesia and others on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session.
The US President had presented them with a 21-point peace plan for the Middle East and Gaza, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday, adding that he is confident of “some sort of breakthrough.”
The meeting came at a crucial time for the Middle East region as Israel has ramped up its military operations in Gaza, where it has killed over 65,000 people since October 2023, with Muslim nations urging the international community to hold Tel Aviv accountable.
“Consultations with Arab and Islamic countries led by US President Donald Trump will produce encouraging results on the Gaza issue,” the state-run APP news agency quoted Sharif as telling overseas Pakistanis in London.
Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan’s deputy premier and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, who said the leaders of five Arab countries, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt, and three non-Arab Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Turkiye and Indonesia, had exchanged views with Trump on the Gaza issue.
“The meetings continued even after the initial meeting and that this will yield positive results on the Gaza issue, which will be shared with the nation,” he was quoted as saying.
Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for a two-state solution to resolve the Middle East crisis. Islamabad supports an independent Palestinian state as per the aspirations of the Palestinian people, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital and according to the pre-1967 borders.
Trump expressed optimism on Sunday about reaching a deal to end the war in Gaza, saying there is “a real chance for greatness in the Middle East” ahead of talks on Monday with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US president did not provide specific details of a prospective ceasefire.
“We have a real chance for Greatness in the Middle East. All are on board for something special, first time ever. We will get it done,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The statement came as Israeli tanks moved deeper into Gaza City’s residential districts on Sunday as local health authorities said they have been unable to respond to dozens of desperate calls, expressing concern about the fate of residents in the targeted areas.
The Israeli military launched its long-threatened ground offensive on Gaza City on September 16 after weeks of intensifying strikes on the urban center, forcing hundreds of Palestinians to flee although many still remain.
Hamas, which Israel has demanded surrender, said Sunday it had not received a new proposal from mediators, after Trump said Friday that “a deal on Gaza” seemed likely.
