Ankara: A decision on sending Pakistani troops to Gaza as part of an international stabilization force under a US-brokered peace agreement is "in process" and has yet to be finalized, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Tuesday. 'This thing has to be finalized, (and) it is in process. The government will take a decision after passing through the process, and I don't want to preempt it,' Asif told Geo News.

According to Anadolu Agency, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will take the parliament and all institutions into confidence before deciding on the issue. The deployment of the troops is part of a plan outlined under US President Donald Trump's 20-point initiative aimed at ending the ongoing conflict in Gaza. This plan includes a phased ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel, which took effect on October 10 through regional and international mediation.

Phase one of the plan involves the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a partial Israeli withdrawal. It also aims at rebuilding Gaza and establishing a new governing mechanism without Hamas, which includes the formation of a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF). Although no details have been finalized yet, countries like Indonesia and Malaysia have already pledged to deploy peacekeepers in Gaza.

Since October 2023, the conflict has resulted in devastating losses, with Israel's genocidal war reportedly killing more than 68,500 people and injuring over 170,300, as per the Gaza Health Ministry.