Pakistan nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize, praising ‘stellar statemanship’

Pakistan has formally recommended US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “decisive diplomatic intervention” following a spike in violence between India and Pakistan earlier this year.

The government praised Trump for leveraging his “pivotal leadership” in May, when several days of cross-border strikes marked the worst regional fighting between the two nuclear-armed nations since 1971, killing dozens and stoking fears of a wider war.

Islamabad and New Delhi agreed to a US-brokered truce on May 8, as one final burst of strikes ripped through parts of the long-disputed Kashmir region – to which both countries claim full sovereignty.

“At a moment of heightened regional turbulence, President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi,” Pakistan’s government said in a statement on Saturday.

The US president helped in “averting a broader conflict between the two nuclear states that would have had catastrophic consequences for millions of people in the region and beyond” the statement added.

“This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue.”

Indian and Pakistani officials gave contradictory accounts of how the agreement on a truce was reached at the time. While Islamabad lauded the involvement of the White House, New Delhi downplayed it – keen to relay the ceasefire as a victory and saying the neighbors “directly” collaborated on the truce.

Governments, other institutions and certain individuals can nominate any living person or active organization for the Nobel Peace Prize. The winner is decided each year by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Trump has long sought to present himself as a global peacemaker.

Before his second term in office, the Republican leader ferociously criticized his predecessor President Joe Biden’s failed attempts to negotiate an end to Israel’s brutal campaign against Hamas in Gaza, and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Now, a new war is brewing in the Middle East after Israel unleashed mass strikes on Iran on June 13, prompting retaliatory attacks from Tehran – a week-long conflict that has already inflicted a bitter human cost.

More than 400 people have been killed in Iran, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported on Saturday, citing Iran’s health ministry. In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed, according to the Israeli government.

Israel says the attacks are targeting nuclear sites and high-ranking military officers, several of whom have been killed. Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks deep into northern and southern Israel.

Earlier this week, Trump set out a self-imposed two-week timeline for a decision on US military involvement in Iran. After meeting with a top EU official and foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, Iran’s foreign minister said his country would not re-enter negotiations with the US while it remains under attack from Israel.

Just on Friday, Trump sought to stress his diplomatic successes in the Middle East and beyond, while suggesting he would not gain recognition for them.

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be.”