Pak PM Sharif to visit Egypt to participate in Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit

Islamabad, Oct 12 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Egypt on Monday to participate in the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit and attend the signing ceremony of the peace agreement aimed at ending the prevailing war in Gaza.

Sharif is paying the visit at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, according to a statement by the Foreign Office.

“The prime minister will be accompanied by the deputy prime minister and other senior ministers during the visit,” the Foreign Office said.

The Sharm El-Sheikh Summit is the result of the diplomatic efforts that began on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s 80th Session in New York last month, where the prime minister along with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, and Türkiye attended a summit-level meeting with President Trump on September 23 to explore avenues for peace in Gaza.

Through a joint statement, these Arab-Islamic countries welcomed President Trump’s efforts to achieve peace and reaffirmed their joint commitment to work with the United States to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire and to address the critical humanitarian conditions in Gaza, it said.

Meanwhile, India will be represented at the summit by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh according to people familiar with the matter.

It is learnt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited for the summit. However, New Delhi deputed Singh to attend the summit.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli cities on October 7, 2023 killing about 1,200 people. Hamas also took 251 people as hostages and over 50 of them are still in its captivity.

Israeli military operations have killed over 66,000 Palestinians since then, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. PTI SH GSP GSP