NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s most powerful military chief in decades is facing a critical test of his newly consolidated authority as the United States presses Islamabad to contribute troops to a proposed international stabilization force in Gaza, a move that could trigger strong domestic backlash, Reuters reported. Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to travel to Washington in the coming weeks to meet US President Donald Trump, sources told the news agency.
The meeting would be Munir’s third with Trump in six months and is likely to centre on Washington’s push for Pakistan’s participation in the Gaza force. The proposed deployment is a key pillar of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, which calls for an international force to oversee a transition period focused on reconstruction and economic recovery in the Palestinian territory, devastated by more than two years of war.
Under the first phase of the plan, a fragile ceasefire took effect on October 10, with Hamas releasing hostages and Israel freeing detained Palestinians. US officials view the stabilisation force as central to moving the plan into its next phase. However, Israeli media have reported concerns in Israel that Washington may push ahead before the return of the body of the last deceased Israeli hostage held in Gaza and before a clear operational framework is in place for Hamas’s disarmament.
For Munir, analysts say, the decision carries significant political risks at home. Any deployment of Pakistani troops to Gaza could provoke public opposition in a country where support for the Palestinian cause is strong and overseas military commitments remain politically sensitive.
“Not contributing could annoy Trump, which is no small matter for a Pakistani state that appears quite keen to remain in his good graces -- in great part to secure US investment and security aid,” Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at the Washington-based Atlantic Council, told Reuters. Munir has worked to repair years of strained ties between Washington and Islamabad, building a close personal relationship with Trump. In June, he was hosted for lunch at the White House — the first time a US president has received Pakistan’s army chief alone, without civilian officials.
Pakistan, the world’s only Muslim-majority country with nuclear weapons, has one of the region’s most experienced militaries. The military is currently engaged in intensified operations against militants that Islamabad says are operating from Afghan territory. That record increases expectations on Munir to respond to Washington’s request, analysts say. “There is a greater pressure on Munir to deliver his capacity,” defence analyst and author Ayesha Siddiqa told Reuters.