Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has defended his government’s controversial decision to nominate former U.S. President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize; a move that has sparked sharp ridicule and criticism at home and abroad, according to DAwn News.
Speaking at a press conference in London on Monday, Sharif credited Trump with helping avert what he called “a bad nuclear war” during the India-Pakistan escalation in mid-2025. He said Trump’s mediation, following New Delhi’s strikes inside Pakistan after the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Kashmir, “saved the region from major destruction and loss of lives.”
Sharif also praised Trump for “easing tensions” in other conflicts, citing Ethiopia, Egypt, Ukraine, and most recently, Gaza, where Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan. “I firmly believe President Trump is prepared to assist in whatever way necessary to make this extremely important understanding a reality,” Sharif declared.
But his remarks have been met with outrage. Critics across Pakistan and the Muslim world argue that nominating Trump for a peace prize ignores his record of unwavering support for Israel’s devastating war in Gaza. Throughout the nearly two-year conflict, Trump has offered political cover to Israel at the United Nations, wielding Washington’s veto to block ceasefire resolutions, while ensuring an uninterrupted flow of U.S. weapons.
That arsenal, rights groups say, has fueled a campaign of mass destruction that has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians; overwhelmingly civilians, including thousands of children, infants, and women. International observers and human rights lawyers have described the onslaught as nothing short of a genocide.
“Sharif’s nomination makes a mockery of peace,” one opposition lawmaker said. “How can the man who armed Israel to slaughter innocent Gazans be considered for a Nobel?”
Sharif, however, brushed off the criticism, describing his recent meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as “very fruitful.” He lauded Trump for co-chairing a Gaza discussion alongside regional states, insisting “a positive result may come very soon.”
Still, for many Pakistanis, Sharif’s embrace of Trump underscores a widening gap between official rhetoric and the anguish of Muslim communities mourning Gaza’s destruction.
