Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Egypt on Monday to participate in the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit and attend the signing ceremony of a peace agreement aimed ending of the grave situation in Gaza.
According to the Foreign Office, the prime minister will attend the summit on the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald Trump. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and other senior members of the cabinet will accopany the prime minister during the visit.
The Sharm El-Sheikh Summit is the outcome of diplomatic efforts initiated on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York last month.
Read More: Ceasefire holds in Gaza ahead of hostage swap, Trump’s Israel visit
Earlier, on September 23, PM Shehbaz joined the leaders of seven Arab-Islamic countries — Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, and Türkiye — in a summit-level meeting with the US president to explore ways to achieve peace in Gaza.
In a joint statement, the participating Arab-Islamic nations welcomed President Trump’s efforts to restore peace and reaffirmed their commitment to work with the United States to secure a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire while addressing the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The Foreign Office said the prime minister’s participation reflects Pakistan’s historic and unwavering support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and for lasting peace and stability in the region.
Pakistan hopes that the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit will pave the way for a full Israeli withdrawal, protection of Palestinian civilians, an end to their displacement, release of prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Islamabad also expects that the ongoing peace efforts will help launch a credible political process leading to an independent, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, based on pre-1967 borders, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
Read: Gazans stream back home as Israel-Hamas ceasefire holds
US President Donald Trump and other world leaders prepared to convene in Egypt for a major peace summit.
Trump will first pass through Israel, addressing parliament and meeting hostage families on Monday before heading to Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh for the summit, where a ‘document ending the war in the Gaza Strip’ is expected to be signed, according to Cairo’s foreign ministry.
Israelis were looking forward keenly to Monday, when Hamas is expected to release its remaining 48 hostages, living and dead. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel was ‘prepared and ready for the immediate reception of all our hostages’.
Hamas will free the captives, 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive, in exchange for nearly 2,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails. “According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP in an interview.
Read More: Hamas warns tough talks ahead
After Trump’s visit to Israel on Monday, he and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair a summit of leaders from more than 20 countries in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency announced.
“The meeting will focus on ending the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security,” it said. Hamas and Israel are not expected to take part. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said, he will attend.
