Pakistan rejects Indian media report of troop deployment deal for Gaza peace force

• Indian magazine's story termed "completely fabricated".
• Information ministry says no deal took place with CIA, Mossad.
• Reaffirms Pakistan's principled stance supporting Palestinians.

Pakistan has categorically rejected the fake and misleading news of the Indian media outlets, claiming the deployment of 20,000 Pakistani troops for the Gaza peace force under an agreement between the US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

Indian publication, Firstpost, reported that a deal was signed by Pakistan to send thousands of soldiers as part of the international stabilisation force in the Palestinian enclave — a plan floated by US President Donald Trump.

However, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting termed the report "completely fabricated", saying that no such meetings, understandings, or "deals" ever took place between the Pakistani military, American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and Israel's Mossad.

Pakistan has never recognised Israel and always maintained a clear, principled stance in support of Palestinian self-determination, said the ministry.

It also clarified that neither the Foreign Office nor the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), ever supported or announced any Pakistani mission in Gaza.

Responding to the Indian media's false claims, the state broadcaster reported that Firstpost quoted references from CNN-News 18, a media outlet that has published unverified information in the past.

The deployment of an international peace force in Gaza was part of the US president's plan to help secure a fragile ceasefire, which began this month, halting two years of war between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

A day ago, Israel said that it wouldn't accept the presence of Turkish armed forces in Gaza under a US plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory for good.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel has not surrendered its right to self-defence as part of the agreement brokered by Washington, Egypt, and Qatar.

Saar's statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tel Aviv would decide which foreign forces to allow in Gaza.

But it remains unclear whether Arab and other states will be ready to commit troops to the international force.

While the Trump administration has ruled out sending US soldiers into the Gaza Strip, it has been speaking to Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and Azerbaijan to contribute to the multinational force.