Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, sparked controversy over the India-Pak truce at the UNGA by referring to Donald Trump as a “man of peace” and nominating him for the Nobel Prize.
At the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attracted attention when he devoted a significant amount of his address to complimenting Donald Trump. Sharif praised the US president as a “man of peace” in a remarkable endorsement, even announcing that Pakistan has decided to submit Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The case for the Nobel Prize
According to an ANI report, Sharif informed international leaders, “Pakistan consented to a ceasefire brokered by President Trump’s bold and muscular leadership, despite being in a position of power.”
He continued by describing Trump’s involvement as “great and fantastic” and asserting that it was “the least we can do for his love of peace” to nominate him for the Nobel Prize.
What was the ceasefire really about?
But there were questions about the Pakistani PM’s explanation. India has insisted repeatedly that no foreign leader was involved in the ceasefire, which was negotiated exclusively between the two nations’ Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs).
Indeed, when New Delhi launched retaliatory attacks, Pakistan’s own DGMO called India, initiating the process, according to officials in New Delhi.
Oval Office awkwardness optics
Sharif and Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir were both made to wait for over an hour in the Oval Office earlier this week, despite Sharif’s gushing compliments.
Before welcoming the team, Trump gave evasive praise to media. “The Field Marshal and the Prime Minister of Pakistan are coming, and they are both excellent leaders. The Prime Minister and the Field Marshal are both excellent men. We are running late, so I do not know, but they may be in this room right now,” he remarked.
When compared to Trump’s more staged meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year, the comments, which were sparse in names but rich in vagueness, highlighted the visit has uneven optics.
Sharif’s Nobel appeal was an effort to position Trump as a trustworthy global friend for Pakistan. It served as yet another warning to India of Islamabad’s propensity to exaggerate diplomatic victories that may not be in line with actual circumstances on the ground.