Thursday, Feb 19, 2026 | 01 Ramadan 1447
Thursday, Feb 19, 2026 | 01 Ramadan 1447
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to Washington, D.C. on February 19, 2026, at the invitation of US President Donald J. Trump, to attend the inaugural session of the Board of Peace (BOP), according to the Foreign Ministry.
The prime minister will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, along with other ministers and senior officials.
During the visit, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to participate in the inaugural session of the BOP and engage with senior U.S. leadership. He will also hold interactions with his counterparts attending the meeting.
The engagements are expected to provide an opportunity for discussions on bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Earlier, Reuters reporter quoting three government sources that during the Washington visit, PM Shehbaz wanted to better understand the goal of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), what authority they were operating under and what the chain of command was before making a decision 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 Sharif.
“We will not be part of any other role, such as disarming Hamas. It is out of the question,” he said.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.
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Force to oversee reconstruction and recovery
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for a force from Muslim nations to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the devastated Palestinian territory, and Washington has been pressing Islamabad to join.
Analysts say Pakistan would be an asset to the multinational force, with its experienced military that has gone to war with arch-rival India and tackled insurgencies.
“We can send initially a couple of thousand troops anytime, but we need to know what role they are going to play,” the source added.
Two of the sources said it was likely Sharif, who has met Trump earlier this year in Davos and late last year at the White House, would either have an audience with him on the sidelines of the meeting or the following day at the White House.
