‘Two-state surrender’: PM’s endorsement of Trump’s Gaza plan draws strong reactions from political sphere

US President Donald Trump, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday unveiled a 20-point plan for Gaza, seeking to broker a ceasefire, a hostage exchange, demilitarisation, and a transitional governance structure.

The two leaders have warned that Israel would “finish the job” against Hamas if the Palestinian group rejects the deal. Key Muslim nations have thrown their weight behind the plan while Washington’s European allies have urged Hamas to accept it.

For its part, Pakistan, which was personally thanked by Trump while announcing the deal, has hailed the 20-point plan; Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed it and called for implementation of the two-state solution.

“I am also convinced that durable peace between the Palestinian people and Israel would be essential in bringing political stability and economic growth to the region,“ he said in a post on X on Sunday night.

The prime minister’s remarks, however, have sparked strong reactions at home, with politicians, analysts, journalists, and activists criticising his endorsement of the Trump plan and terming it a “surrender”.

Author and former diplomat Abdul Basit said: “This is a complete surrender by the Muslim world. They can’t even mention a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He added that it would be a “huge mistake” for Pakistan to join the Abraham Accords before the establishment of the State of Palestine.

As part of the Abraham Accords, signed during Trump’s first term in office, four Muslim-majority countries had agreed to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation.

He also questioned why the premier was supporting the plan “knowing full well that it is literally ruling out any possibility of creating state of Palestine”.

Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) leader Allama Raja Nasir termed Trump’s plan a “flawed and unjust proposal that disregards the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people”.

“This secretive plan, crafted without open dialogue, excludes Palestinians and imposes a US-centric solution that prioritises Israeli interests over Palestinian justice,” he said.

He said that the plan sidelined key Palestinian voices, demanded the dissolution of Hamas without addressing its support base and was vague on the issue of Palestinian statehood. It also ignored critical matters such as the status of Jerusalem and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, he said.

“No solution can succeed without the meaningful participation of the Palestinian people and all stakeholders. A top-down dictate from Washington stands no chance,” he said.

He added that PM Shehbaz’s “hasty endorsement of this plan — betraying both the Palestinian cause and Pakistan’s historic solidarity with it — is surprising”.

“His support for a US-driven framework, without consulting the Pakistani people, who share a deep emotional attachment to the Palestinian cause, or ensuring Palestinian inclusion, undermines that very cause. Only a transparent, inclusive peace process that centres Palestinian voices and delivers true sovereignty can bring peace — not a plan that perpetuates occupation under the guise of peace,” he said.

“There is one issue on which there is complete consensus in Pakistan and that is the issue of Palestine,” said human rights activist Advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir.

“This Zionist slave and his masters will never be forgiven by the people of Pakistan for this,” she said.

Author and activist Fatima Bhutto said that her Pakistani passport prohibited her from entering Israel as the country she belonged to had a “duty” to the Palestinian people.

“A Pakistan that forsakes that moral and sacred obligation is an embarrassment and a humiliation,” she said.

She said that the Pakistani people would never accept a “two-state surrender”. “There is only one Palestine and it is occupied by Israel, a criminal genocidal entity,” she said.

“To speak of normalisation during Israel’s live-streamed Holocaust of our Palestinian brothers and sisters is a shattering betrayal. Why does Pakistan exist? It’s a state to protect Muslims. It should do so,” she said.

Journalist Talat Hussain also criticised the plan, saying “The Plan: No Palestinian state; No Palestinian Authority in Gaza; Hamas goes to dustbin of history after releasing all prisoners; Netanyahu becomes the peace maker after killing 64,000 Palestinians; Trump runs Gaza as real estate bonanza in a land soaked in fresh blood.”

In a thread on X, journalist Zarrar Khuhro said: “Standing next to a war criminal, Trump has presented a ‘plan’ that can never really work and which Israel will itself sabotage in no time while blaming Palestinians.”

He noted that the official line had always been a two-state solution, not just from Pakistan, but from a majority of nations.

He said that all the plan would likely be was a way to “whitewash Israel and provide an alternative target for the anger of Palestinians. Should stay away from any such proposals given the ground realities and the nature of genocidal Israel.”

“Whatever the ‘incentives’, the government of Pakistan must not endorse the whitewashing of Israel or join in a security arrangement that amounts to further oppression of Palestinians. This will be absolutely unacceptable to all Pakistanis,” he said.

“In any case, as of yet, there has been no response from Hamas or any other Palestinian group as yet. We know that Israel sets impossible conditions exactly so that they are rejected and they can carry out their agenda of extermination. This new ‘plan’ will likely end the same,” he said.

Activist Ammar Ali Jan reacted to the premier’s post, saying, “Shame on you for talking about ‘peace’ with the Zionist entity at a time when it is committing a genocide of Palestinians.

“The people of Pakistan will never forgive those who join Trump’s plan for normalising these genocidal maniacs. Don’t dare cross this red line,” he said.

Veteran politician Javed Hashmi said that Quaid-i-Azam’s stance was clear that Israel was a “bastard state”.

“Shame on you, your masters, and those puppets whose hands drip with the blood of Palestinians. History won’t forgive you,” he said.

Jamaat-i-Islami central emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said that his party categorically rejected the premier’s statement.

“The United Nations Charter is clear: every nation has the right to armed struggle if its land is occupied, and no power can forcibly deny this right. To praise any so-called peace proposal built upon the bodies of 66,000 martyred Palestinians is to stand with the oppressors,” he said.

“Without the will and consent of the Pakistani nation, how can any individual dare to speak in the voice of Donald Trump?” he asked.

Former finance minister Asad Umar said that PM Shehbaz had “overturned a cornerstone of Pakistan policy for decades regarding Palestine, by supporting the Trump plan”.

“He has done this without any national debate and mandate from the nation,” he said, adding that there were seven questions the premier needed to answer.

“The plan says Gaza will be deradicalised and become a terror-free zone. Why does it not say the same about Israel, which is the most radical country in the world and a threat to world peace?” he asked.

“Israeli hostages will be released immediately but Israel will withdraw in an undefined future time in phases. With Israeli history of breaking every peace accord, why is it being trusted and not withdrawing immediately?” he continued.

“How can you support only 600 trucks per day [of] relief goods for a population of more than two million, many on brink of starvation? Even this level agreed in the Jan 2025 accord has not been allowed by Israel,” he pointed out.

He also took issue with the implementation of a technocratic government in Gaza being supervised by the US. “Why lectures of democracy for the rest of the world and an effectively colonised technocracy for Gaza?”

“Hamas will not have any role in Gaza but Netanyahu, who has attacked five sovereign nations in last year and killed more than 66,000 Gazans, including 20,000 children, allowed to continue?” Umar continued.

“When redevelopment is advanced, conditions may be in place for a pathway to Palestinian statehood!!! In other words no two-state solution for decades and probably never. How can you support this treachery?” he questioned.

“Why is there no word about stopping and evacuating the illegal Israeli settlements?”

Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar termed the joint statement issued by Muslim countries a “surrender”.

“Netanyahu goes scot-free after committing genocide!” he said.

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