{"id":1700,"date":"2026-01-23T12:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/?p=1700"},"modified":"2026-01-23T12:48:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:48:24","slug":"govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/?p=1700","title":{"rendered":"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>ISLAMABAD:<\/strong> The government on Friday once again defended its decision to join the Board of Peace led by US President Donald Trump, terming the move a significant diplomatic achievement for Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan\u2019s inclusion in the forum placed the country \u201cat the centre stage\u201d alongside brother Muslim nations, enabling it to contribute meaningfully towards peace efforts in Gaza and Palestine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Addressing a press briefing, the minister said Pakistan\u2019s participation reflected its growing diplomatic relevance and commitment to international peace. He dismissed criticism from opposition parties, stating that engaging with global initiatives was essential to safeguarding national and regional interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPakistan is playing a constructive role by engaging with major international stakeholders. Being part of this platform allows us to effectively raise the concerns of the Muslim world, particularly regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that the government remained committed to supporting the Palestinian cause through diplomatic and political channels, while continuing to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government\u2019s decision has sparked debate at home, with critics questioning the nature and objectives of the US-led initiative. However, officials maintain that Pakistan\u2019s involvement is aimed at promoting peace and stability rather than endorsing any unilateral agenda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday once again defended its decision to join the Board of Peace led by<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,33,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","category-peace","category-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019 - The Friday News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019 - The Friday News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday once again defended its decision to join the Board of Peace led by\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Friday News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T12:48:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T12:48:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/231402506cc99ed.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"thefridaynews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"thefridaynews\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"thefridaynews\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e020f85335112c59d4c3d9ed6b67b37b\"},\"headline\":\"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-23T12:48:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-23T12:48:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":222,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/231402506cc99ed.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Newsbeat\",\"Peace\",\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/\",\"name\":\"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019 - The Friday News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/231402506cc99ed.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-23T12:48:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-23T12:48:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/231402506cc99ed.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/231402506cc99ed.webp\",\"width\":800,\"height\":480},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Friday News\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Friday News\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/cropped-3-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/cropped-3-1.jpg\",\"width\":319,\"height\":158,\"caption\":\"The Friday News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e020f85335112c59d4c3d9ed6b67b37b\",\"name\":\"thefridaynews\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7082bd31f5e9652aacd926cbd75c9b46563e2b6d2c99b152e821fac47b0688d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7082bd31f5e9652aacd926cbd75c9b46563e2b6d2c99b152e821fac47b0688d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7082bd31f5e9652aacd926cbd75c9b46563e2b6d2c99b152e821fac47b0688d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"thefridaynews\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefridaynews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019 - The Friday News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019 - The Friday News","og_description":"ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday once again defended its decision to join the Board of Peace led by","og_url":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/","og_site_name":"The Friday News","article_published_time":"2026-01-23T12:48:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-23T12:48:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/231402506cc99ed.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"thefridaynews","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"thefridaynews","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/"},"author":{"name":"thefridaynews","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e020f85335112c59d4c3d9ed6b67b37b"},"headline":"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019","datePublished":"2026-01-23T12:48:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-23T12:48:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/"},"wordCount":222,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/231402506cc99ed.webp","articleSection":["Newsbeat","Peace","World"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/","url":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/","name":"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019 - The Friday News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/231402506cc99ed.webp","datePublished":"2026-01-23T12:48:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-23T12:48:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/231402506cc99ed.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/231402506cc99ed.webp","width":800,"height":480},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/govt-defends-joining-us-led-board-of-peace-calls-it-diplomatic-win\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Govt Defends Joining US-Led Board of Peace, Calls It \u2018Diplomatic Win\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/","name":"The Friday News","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#organization","name":"The Friday News","url":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-3-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-3-1.jpg","width":319,"height":158,"caption":"The Friday News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e020f85335112c59d4c3d9ed6b67b37b","name":"thefridaynews","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7082bd31f5e9652aacd926cbd75c9b46563e2b6d2c99b152e821fac47b0688d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7082bd31f5e9652aacd926cbd75c9b46563e2b6d2c99b152e821fac47b0688d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7082bd31f5e9652aacd926cbd75c9b46563e2b6d2c99b152e821fac47b0688d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"thefridaynews"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/thefridaynews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1702,"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700\/revisions\/1702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefridaynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}