Pakistan PM arrives in Washington for inaugural Board of Peace session

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Washington for an official visit from Feb. 18 to 20 at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said. Sharif is scheduled to attend the inaugural session of President Trump’s Board of Peace on Feb. 19 in the U.S. capital, alongside delegations from at least 20 countries. Trump, who will chair the meeting, is expected to announce a multibillion-dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and outline plans for a United Nations-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave. According to the Foreign Office, the visit underscores Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with the United States and contributing to global peace initiatives. > 🔊PR No.4️⃣7️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ > > Curtain Raiser: Prime Minister’s Visit to the Unites States of Americas. (18–20 February 2026) > > 🔗⬇️https://t.co/2P4LynS8HR pic.twitter.com/hp1xja2o5h > — Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) February 18, 2026 Sharif is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other federal ministers and senior officials. In addition to participating in the Board of Peace session, Sharif is scheduled to hold meetings with senior U.S. leadership and interact with other world leaders attending the event. Discussions are expected to cover bilateral cooperation, regional developments and key global issues of mutual interest. The visit is seen as an important step in enhancing diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Washington. Three government sources told Reuters that during the Washington visit, Sharif wanted to better understand the goal of the ISF, what authority it would operate under and its chain of command 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, described as a close aide of Sharif. “We will not be part of any other role, such as disarming Hamas. It is out of the question,” the source said. 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 Palestinian territory, and Washington has been pressing Islamabad to join. 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 meet him on the sidelines of the meeting or the following day. Initially designed to cement Gaza’s ceasefire, Trump sees the Board of Peace, launched in late January, taking a wider role in resolving global conflicts. Some countries have reacted cautiously, fearing it could become a rival to the United Nations. While Pakistan has supported the establishment of the board, it has voiced concerns against the mission to demilitarize Hamas. Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistan ambassador to the United States, said the Pakistani public supported sending troops to Gaza only to help protect Palestinians. “If developments in Gaza after the deployment do not improve the position of Palestinians, there could be a massive reaction at the public level in Pakistan,” said Haqqani, currently a scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington.