by Farwa Imtiaz
The people of Gaza rejoiced, as American President Donald Trump announced a 20-point plan, between Israel and Hamas, after two years of active hostilities, on September 29, 2025. The plan, also known as “Gaza Peace Plan”, called for immediate ceasefire, return of hostages, aid and rehabilitation and deployment of International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Peacekeeping.
The purpose of a temporary peacekeeping force became a part of the peace plan to train and provide support to the Palestinian police forces in Gaza, all while securing the borders, ensuring a smooth aid process and maintaining peace in the area. Recent developments have highlighted that along with other middle eastern countries, Pakistan is also set to send its soldiers to join the ISF. This consideration of joining a multinational stabilisation force marks Pakistan’s shift from South Asian containment and deterrence to global peacekeeping diplomacy, setting Gaza as a ‘Test Case’ of whether Pakistan can act as a credible diplomatic middle power in the age of a multipolar polarized global world order.
From Regional Realpolitik to Global Peacekeeping
Since independence in 1947, Pakistan’s external engagements have been constricted. On the eastern border, its rivalry with India practically manifested in the form of wars (1948, 1965, 1971, 1999), while on the western front, post Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan became a frontline state in the Cold War. It had its foreign policy therefore deeply rooted in survival and deterrence in the climate of great power rivalry.
In this multidimensional security setting, Pakistan formulated a counter identity, an identity in which it became a dependable participant in the UN peacekeeping. Pakistan maintained one of the longest standing roles in UN peacekeeping, from Congo (1960s) to Somalia (1990s), Bosnia (1990s), Sierra Leone (2000s), Darfur (2010s) and beyond. Pakistan has sent 235,000 soldiers to 48 missions and 29 states in virtually every continent. Upward to 181 Pakistani peacekeepers have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. About 10% of all casualties sustained by UN peacekeeping operations since their start were from Pakistan. 97 Pakistani peacekeepers have received the ‘Dag Hammarskjold Medal,’ the greatest UN honor, in appreciation for their valor.
These missions have portrayed Pakistan’s image as a peacemaker in the world, even at a time when it was regionally challenged. Being involved in ISF would help enhance this legacy of peacekeeping and traverse into a more perilous zone, the Middle East where world tensions collide into one another.
Gaza as a Strategic Test Case
India-Pakistan conflict of May 2025, signing of Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) with Saudi Arabia, strategic dealings with Iran and Turkiye, promotion of the Trump Peace Plan and the October 2025 Taliban negotiations demonstrate how Pakistan is changing its foreign policy, no longer restricting itself to survival and deterrence, but also engaging in diplomacy. Besides this policy change, previous experience of Peacekeeping during the period of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in Kashmir and Bosnia mission (1994-1996) reveals that Pakistan was working in Muslim majority areas which are applicable to the complexities of the post conflicts situation in Gaza.
Against this backdrop, Gaza now stands as proving ground for Pakistan’s redefined stature, where it faces three main strategic tests. Firstly, Pakistan has to avoid alignment with any bloc and stay neutral, revisiting its neutrality in Cambodia (1992) despite relations with China. Next, Pakistan will prove its capability of diplomatically stabilising the area rather than mere security presence. Lastly, continuous engagement, as done in MONUSCO (Congo) for nearly two decades, will be needed. Gaza will test whether Pakistan remains firm on its peacekeeping identity and renewed foreign policy.
Balancing Global Major Powers
Gaza further will allow Pakistan to establish itself as a ‘bridge state’ and ‘middle power’, connecting Western, Asian, and Islamic countries without being subsumed by any. Pakistan has the capability of hedging between powers, as during the Cold War, Pakistan was a U.S. ally under Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) AND Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), yet maintained diplomatic relations with China. Post 9/11, Pakistan cooperated with the U.S. in ‘war on terror’ while simultaneously engaging with China’s global development and connectivity initiatives under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In Gaza’s case, Pakistan’s support of Trump’s Peace Plan and peacekeeping driven participation could reassure Western policymakers. Similarly, Pakistan’s diplomatic initiatives in Gaza align with China’s ‘Global Security Initiative.’ Gulf capitals, who have historically turned to Pakistan for security cooperation, would also be satisfied with Pakistan’s presence in the ISF.
The Doctrine of Verifiable Peace
Pakistan’s changing foreign policy doctrine can be understood through the concept of Verifiable Peace, which seeks to combine peacekeeping diplomacy with evidence based mechanisms. It is based on the Cold War experiences where verification was used to maintain world security. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) and the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) frameworks evidenced that sustainable peace had to be quantifiable, and audited correctly. Pakistan also has earlier on in the past supported third party verification and negotiation as a way of conflict management. One such example is the UNMOGIP (Kashmir). The same maxim is currently observable in the 2025 Doha and Istanbul negotiations with the Taliban. When applied to Gaza, it will enable Pakistan to implement this philosophy within the international arena to guarantee the conditions of ceasefire, aid and protection of civilians.
Gaza therefore provides Pakistan with a chance to take its foreign policy to be accountability and monitoring centric rather than security centric. This is not the test of taking sides, but a chance to bring peace in an area that is devastated by point blank violence. It is still yet to be seen how well it will be addressed by Pakistan.
