Pakistan PM to attend Egypt peace summit as world leaders push Gaza ceasefire deal

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Egypt on Monday to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit, a high-level gathering seeking to finalize a peace agreement to end the humanitarian and security crisis in Gaza.

The invitation was jointly extended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump, who have been leading diplomatic efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions after months of devastating conflict.

Hamas has agreed to the first stage of the U.S.-backed plan, which led to a ceasefire on Friday. The next phase, set for Monday, is expected to see the release of 48 Israeli hostages, both living and dead.

In return, Israel is expected to release 250 “national security prisoners,” including several accused of deadly attacks, and 1,700 Gazans detained by its military.

However, Hamas has resisted calls for disarmament. “The second phase of the U.S. plan contains many complexities and difficulties,” senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP on Sunday.

According to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Sharif will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior cabinet members.

The summit follows weeks of backchannel negotiations and builds on talks held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month. Leaders from Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, and Turkey met with President Trump on Sept. 23 to discuss pathways toward peace and humanitarian relief in Gaza.

At that meeting, participating Arab and Islamic nations welcomed U.S. diplomatic engagement and pledged to work together for a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire and to address Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.

Officials say the Sharm El-Sheikh summit is expected to conclude with a peace framework that would halt hostilities, ensure Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas, facilitate the return of displaced Palestinians, and enable large-scale reconstruction efforts across Gaza.

Sharif’s participation underscores Pakistan’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause and its advocacy of a two-state solution based on international law. Islamabad has repeatedly called for the establishment of an independent and contiguous Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital, based on pre-1967 borders and relevant U.N. resolutions.

In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office expressed hope that the summit would help lay the groundwork for “lasting peace and stability in the Middle East,” while addressing urgent humanitarian needs and ensuring protection for Palestinian civilians.

The Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit is viewed by observers as one of the most consequential diplomatic efforts in recent years, bringing together regional and global powers in a bid to end one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.