'That is not our job’: Pakistan rules out taking part in Hamas disarmament." (11/30/25.)
Washington has been unable to secure commitments for the planned 'stabilization force,' which is tasked with demilitarizing Gaza after Israel failed to do so over the past two years
Pakistan said on 30 November that it is willing to contribute troops the International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza, but will not take part in any effort to disarm Hamas.
“If the purpose of deploying an international stabilization force in Palestine is to disarm Hamas, then we are not ready for that, that’s not our job,” Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, told reporters in Islamabad. “That is the job of Palestinian law enforcement agencies.”
He stressed that Pakistan will “definitely” participate in the ISF if its mission is peacekeeping.
“Prime Minister (Shehbaz Sharif) had agreed in principle that we would also send forces, but we will decide only after knowing what the terms of reference, terms of action, and mandate will be,” Dar added.
The minister also said he was present during initial talks on the ISF, when Indonesiapledged to contribute up to 20,000 troops.
“But as per my information, if it will include disarming Hamas, then even my Indonesian counterpart has informally expressed his reservations,” the minister went on to say.
A day before Dar’s comments, the Washington Post reported that countries that had previously expressed willingness to deploy troops for the ISF now seek to distance themselves from it.
The ISF “is struggling to get off the ground as countries considered likely to contribute soldiers have grown wary” over concerns their soldiers may be required to use force against Palestinians, sources told the outlet.
Indonesia had stated it would send 20,000 peacekeeping troops. However, officials in Jakarta speaking with the US news outlet said they now plan to provide a much smaller contingent of about 1,200. Azerbaijan has also reneged on a previous commitment to provide troops. Baku will only send troops if there is a complete halt to fighting, Reutersreported earlier this month.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) passed the US resolution on implementing phase two of the Gaza ‘ceasefire’ earlier this month, effectively bringing the strip under the control of a ‘Board of Peace’ led by Donald Trump.
Hamas and other factions have condemned the resolution as an imposition of a foreign guardianship over Gaza and a new form of occupation. The resolution aims to “achieve the occupation’s objectives, which it failed to accomplish through its brutal genocide,” Hamas said.
Arab and Palestinian sources told Israeli newspaper Haaretz on 27 November that “no progress is visible” in implementing phase two. The report stressed that Hamas will not be willing to disarm until Israel completely withdraws from Gaza.
Trump’s ‘peace plan’ allows Israel to maintain a presence in the strip until the resistance is dismantled entirely.
The Haaretz report also highlights that questions about the ISF, its mandate, and its deployment remain unanswered.