US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Friday that Pakistan has offered to send troops for the proposed International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in war-torn Gaza.
The ISF is part of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan framework for peacebuilding in the conflict-hit region.
Responding to questions on whether Pakistan has formally consented to participate, Rubio was quoted by news agency ANI as saying, “We're very grateful to Pakistan for their offer to be a part of it, or at least their offer to consider being a part of it.”
"I think we owe them a few more answers before we can ask anybody to firmly commit," Rubio reportedly said on Friday.
Marco Rubio exuded confidence that multiple nations have indicated their willingness to contribute to the stabilisation force for the peacebuilding effort.
"But I feel very confident that we have a number of nation-states acceptable to all sides in this conflict who are willing to step forward and be a part of that stabilisation force," Rubio was quoted as saying, while noting that Pakistan was among the countries that had expressed interest.
What did Pakistan say?
Meanwhile, Pakistan said that it has not yet decided whether to contribute troops to the proposed ISF for Gaza, Pakistan-based media house Dawn reported.
In a weekly press briefing on Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson, Tahir Hussain Andrabi, said, "Regarding Pakistan's participation in the ISF, no decision has been taken to join the force as of now," as quoted by Dawn.
The ISF is one of the central elements of Trump's 20-point plan, which helped facilitate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October.
On November 17, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution endorsing the plan and authorising the formation of the ISF as a temporary multinational force to assist with security, demilitarisation, and reconstruction in Gaza. Russia and China abstained, while Pakistan supported the resolution.
As per Dawn, the Foreign Office's statement comes amid growing speculation that the Trump administration may be pressing Pakistan to commit troops to the ISF.
International force in Gaza: Who will disarm Hamas?
Disarming the Palestinian militant group Hamas is among the top priorities of Israel in Gaza.
It, however, remains unclear how Hamas will be disarmed, and countries considering contributing troops to the ISF are wary that Hamas will engage their soldiers in combat.
On Friday, Marco Rubio did not specify who would be responsible for disarming Hamas and conceded that countries contributing troops want to know what the ISF's specific mandate is and how it will be funded.
Marco Rubio said on Friday that a new governance structure for Gaza -- made up of an international board and a group of Palestinian technocrats -- would be in place soon.
He said it would be followed by the deployment of foreign troops, as the US. hopes to cement a fragile ceasefire in Israel's war in the Palestinian enclave.
