Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif came in for praise while attending the inaugural summit of the the “Board of Peace” to deliberate on issues related to Gaza as Pakistan has denied that it will join the International Stabilisation Force to demilitarise Hamas.

Various other world leaders, along with United States President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, are attending the event.

Addressing the event, Trump again praised PM Shehbaz. “I like this guy,” he said while recounting the events that led to the ceasefire after last year’s conflict between Pakistan and India in May. Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir was also praised by the US president.

“Prime Minister Sharif, I like this man. There was some fighting going on when I got to know him and your field marshal — great, great general; great guy. I got to meet the prime minister and h e said in front of our Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, he said: ‘Do you know no body knows but I believe that President Trump saved 25 millions lives when he stopped the war between us and India.’ You made that statement,” he said while addressing the premier.

Referring to the active conflict at the time, he said: “Pakistan and India; I got on the phone with both of them and I knew them a little bit, actually I knew PM Modi very well. I got to know Pakistan through a little trade, they were trying to make too good a deal and I got a little upset with them and in the end they got what they wanted and I made a good deal and I got to like them — the prime minister, the field marshal, who is a tough man, a good serious fighter and I like good fighters actually.”

Trump said when he got to know about the conflict, “I saw that Pakistan and India were really going at it and then it got worse and worse; many planes were shot down. I called them, ‘Listen I’m not doing trade deals with you two guys if you don’t settle this out. They said:’No, no’. I said to both of them: ‘If you don’t do it, I’m not doing a trade deal. We’re not doing a trade deal.’ They do a lot of business with the US and they sort of softened up all of a sudden, there was a little bit of a pullback by one and the other and all of a sudden we worked out a deal.

“I said if you fight, I am going to put up 200% tariffs on each of your countries, which essentially makes you not allowed to do any business. One of them, I won’t say which one, said: ‘No! You can’t do that.’

“They both wanted to fight. When it came to money, nothing like money, when it came to losing a lot of money, they said: ‘I guess we don’t want to fight’ and we solved that deal in two to three days. These are two very powerful nations, nuclear nations and I don’t want to say what was going to happen but you know, bad things happened.”

Trump said he wanted to thank PM Shehbaz because the conflict was “a very big deal, people have no idea”. “Eleven jets were shot down, very expensive jets,” he said, upping his count from thr previous 10 of jets shot down in the conflict.

Addressing the summit himself later, PM Shehbaz praised Trump for his efforts in promoting peace in Gaza and averting a war between India and Pakistan, calling him a “man of peace”.

The premier termed it a great honour to attend the session and prayed for the success of efforts aimed at bringing lasting peace in Gaza.

“Mr president, we deeply appreciate your unique initiative and dynamic leadership in advancing peaceful solutions to conflicts across the globe,” the prime minister said, adding that bold diplomacy had brought calm to several serious international hotspots.

He said the US president’s timely and effective intervention to achieve a ceasefire between India and Pakistan had potentially averted the loss of tens of millions of lives. “You have truly proved to be a man of peace and a saviour of South Asia,” he remarked.

Referring to the situation in Gaza, the prime minister said the people of Palestine had long endured illegal occupation and immense suffering. He stressed that to achieve lasting peace, ceasefire violations must end in order to preserve lives and advance reconstruction efforts.

“The people of Palestine must exercise full control of their land and their future in line with UN Security Council resolutions,” he said.

The prime minister also underlined the need to work collectively to find a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination through the establishment of an independent, sovereign and contiguous state of Palestine in accordance with relevant resolutions.

He expressed hope that under President Trump’s leadership, a just and lasting resolution of the Palestine issue would be ensured.

“Today is a day which will be marked in the annals of history that through your efforts, through your untiring support and great efforts, long-lasting peace in Gaza will be achieved and will be your legacy for all time to come,” the premier concluded.

Trump and PM Shehbaz also had a small interaction later where the former pulled the latter in for a hug.

The prime minister landed in Washington earlier today. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi accompanied the premier in the Pakistani delegation, alongside delegations from 20 other countries.

High-level meetings between PM Shehbaz and US officials are also expected in Washington.

Before Pakistan commits to sending troops to Gaza as part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), it wants assurances from the US that it will be a peacekeeping mission rather than tasked with disarming Hamas, three sources told Reuters.

The ISF will operate under the Board’s “Comprehensive Plan”, with the US in command, tasked with stabilising Gaza, overseeing humanitarian zones and protecting civilians as the Comprehensive Plan is implemented.

Trump is expected to announce a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a UN-authorised stabilisation force for the Palestinian enclave.

Three government sources said during the Washington visit, PM Shehbaz wanted to better understand the goal of the ISF, what authority they were operating under and what the chain of command was before deciding on deploying troops.

“We are ready to send troops. Let me make it clear that our troops could only be part of a peace mission in Gaza,” said one of the sources, a close aide of the premier.

“We will not be part of any other role, such as disarming Hamas. It is out of the question,” he said.

‘Board of Peace’

The “Board of Peace”, a transitional governing body created to oversee Gaza and implement the so‑called Comprehensive Plan aimed at ending the conflict there, has centralised authority to manage Gaza’s transition, demobilisation and demilitarisation, and it can issue resolutions, form sub‑committees, and change civil and criminal laws under the direction and control of its chairman.

It is chaired for life by Trump, giving him wide authority over decisions, appointments, and the direction of operations.

The board oversees a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a technocratic body of Palestinians, with decision-making power consolidated with the board and its high representative.

The document also outlines the ISF, initially to be led by the US with operational command under a US major general. The ISF will assist in security, humanitarian protection and controlled civilian‑protection corridors.

Pakistan does not have representation on the Gaza Executive Board, meaning it won’t directly influence decisions there.

Read more: Pakistan’s decision to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ draws mixed reactions

Officials have defended Pakistan’s decision to join the board while critics warn that the board’s structure centralises power and sidelines Palestinian agency, expressing concern that future pressure might emerge to participate in actions Pakistan opposes, such as efforts concerning Hamas.