Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif turned heads at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday when he dedicated a large portion of his speech to praising Donald Trump. In a dramatic endorsement, Sharif hailed the US President as a 'man of peace' and even announced Pakistan’s decision to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel pitch
“Though in a position of strength, Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire facilitated by President Trump’s bold and vigorous leadership,” Sharif told world leaders as per a report by ANI.
He went further, calling Trump’s intervention 'wonderful and outstanding,' insisting that nominating him for the Nobel was 'the least we can do for his love of peace.'
What really happened in the ceasefire?
The Pakistani PM’s account, however, raised eyebrows. India has consistently maintained that the ceasefire was arranged directly between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries, without the involvement of any foreign leader.
In fact, officials in New Delhi point out that it was Pakistan’s own DGMO who phoned India after retaliatory strikes by New Delhi, setting the process in motion.
Optics of Oval Office awkwardness
Despite Sharif’s effusive praise, both he and Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir were left waiting for nearly an hour at the Oval Office earlier this week.
Trump, speaking to reporters before receiving the delegation, offered vague compliments. “We have a great leader coming, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Field Marshal. Field Marshal is a very great guy, and so is the Prime Minister. They may be in this room right now, I don’t know, because we’re late,” he said.
The remarks, light on names but heavy on ambiguity, underscored the unequal optics of the visit, especially when contrasted with Trump’s more choreographed interactions with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year.
For Pakistan, Sharif’s Nobel pitch was an attempt to showcase Trump as a reliable ally on the world stage. For India, it was yet another reminder of Islamabad’s tendency to inflate diplomatic wins that may not align with ground realities.
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