KARACHI: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday joined an Arab-Islamic Summit hosted by US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in New York, where Muslim leaders discussed ways to end the war in Gaza.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, launched in October 2023, has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and destroyed large parts of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Growing international frustration with Washington over the war in Gaza spilled into the open at the UN General Assembly this week, with US allies recognizing a Palestinian state in a major test for Trump’s Middle East policy.
“We want to end the war in Gaza. We’re going to end it. Maybe we can end it right now,” Trump said at the Arab-Islamic summit on the sidelines of the UNGA that brought together leaders and ministers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Trump said Muslim leaders were uniquely placed to help resolve the crisis.
“We have to get the 38 back, and we have to get the 20 back, and I think we’ll be able to do it,” he said. “This is the group that can do it, more than any other group in the world ... So, it’s an honor to be with you.”
Qatar’s emir told the gathering the world was counting on the US president “to end this war and to help the people of Gaza.”
He added: “The situation is very, very bad there. So we are here to meet, to do everything we can to stop this war and to bring the hostages back.”
Sharif, according to his office, met Qatar’s emir, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto ahead of the summit. He later held informal talks with Trump and praised him for efforts to resolve global conflicts, including a four-day war between Pakistan and India in May.
