India, Jan. 25 -- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir have proffered a strategic overture to US President Donald Trump, signalling that Pakistan could contribute personnel to a proposed International Stabilisation Force in Gaza. By projecting itself as a uniquely suitable contributor capable of providing a "Muslim face" to a mission that might otherwise be viewed as a Western occupation, security officials familiar with high-level discussions say Munir has offered an attractive proposition to Trump, one that carries the potential to trigger a significant pivot in Pakistan's Middle East policy.

The offer, however, is deliberately conditional. Pakistani officials have conveyed that any de...