Pakistani politicians on Sunday raised their concerns over the government\u2019s decision to recommend US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, as Washington joined Israel\u2019s war with Iran.<\/p>\n
The government had decided to nominate Trump for the prestigious award to hail his \u201cdecisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership\u201d during last month\u2019s Pak-India conflict, when both neighbours stepped back from the brink of war with US mediation.<\/p>\n
In a statement, it had highlighted that Trump \u201cdemonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi\u201d, which ultimately secured a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
However, after the US bombed Iran\u2019s Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites, with Trump saying they were \u201ctotally obliterated\u201d, leaders across the political spectrum joined Pakistani citizens in voicing their reservations.<\/p>\n
Veteran politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who heads his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), demanded that the government rescind its decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s claim of peace has proven to be false, the proposal for the Nobel Prize should be withdrawn,\u201d Fazl told workers at a party meeting in Murree today, according to a JUI-F statement.<\/p>\n
He said that Trump\u2019s recent meeting and lunch with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir \u201cpleased Pakistani rulers so much\u201d that they recommended nominating the US president for the Nobel prize.<\/p>\n
The JUI-F chief noted that Trump won the presidential election with the slogan of peace but was \u201cproven false in his claim\u201d.<\/p>\n
Fazl said that when Pakistan \u201cdestroyed India\u2019s defence force\u201d, President Trump intervened and said he had declared a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
\u201c[But] Trump has supported the Israeli attacks on Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. How can this be a sign of peace?\u201d Fazl questioned. \u201cWith the blood of Afghans and Palestinians on America\u2019s hands, how can he claim to be a proponent of peace?\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump campaigned for office as a \u201cpeacemaker\u201d who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency.<\/p>\n
The US has several times vetoed resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at the UN Security Council, the latest earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Fazl said his party was in favour of friendship with the US but not of its \u201cslavery\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cNational sovereignty, the right of the people to govern themselves, and economic freedom should be maintained in relations with America,\u201d the JUI-F chief asserted.<\/p>\n
Fazl further said that in the last three months, a US delegation has visited him three times, after which he attended their diplomatic ceremony in Islamabad.<\/p>\n
He also expressed his view that the attacks on Iran were an attempt to stop China\u2019s economic growth in the Middle East. China is the largest importer of Iranian oil.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan\u2019s economic strength in the region has been affected the most. The economic balance is shifting towards Asia instead of Europe, which is a good omen for Asia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Trump no longer a potential peacemaker\u2019
\nCalls to reconsider the government\u2019s decision also came from other politicians.<\/p>\n
Former senator Mushahid Hussain wrote on X: \u201cSince Trump is no longer a potential peacemaker, but a leader who has willfully unleashed an illegal war, [the] Pakistan government must now review, rescind and revoke his Nobel nomination!\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Trump had been \u201ctrapped by Netanyahu and Israeli war lobby, committing [the] biggest blunder of his presidency\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump will now end up presiding over [the] decline of America!\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump \u201cengaged in deception and betrayed his own promise not to start new wars\u201d, Mushahid said in another post, strongly condemning the US attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n
Hussain, former chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence, had previously said that if the nomination \u201cpanders to Trump\u2019s ego, so be it\u201d.<\/p>\n
PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan wrote \u201creconsider\u201d in all caps on his X account, highlighting the \u201cUS attack on Iran and continuous US support of Israeli killings in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a separate post, the opposition PTI condemned the \u201cunprovoked\u201d US strikes and voiced \u201ctotal support\u201d for Iran\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n
Raoof Hasan, head of PTI\u2019s political think-tank, said the government\u2019s decision was now a \u201ccause of unmitigated shame and embarrassment for those who were instrumental in making the choice\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why it is said that legitimacy can neither be bought nor gifted,\u201d said Hasan, as he took a jibe at the government. He also denounced the US\u2019s \u201ctotal disregard for international covenants\u201d through the attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n
Former senator Afrasiab Khattak said, \u201cThe sycophancy adopted by [the] Pakistani ruling elite in nominating President Trump for Nobel Peace Prize is not part of normative conduct in international diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was most embarrassing to announce the nomination hours before Trump ordered to bomb Iranian nuclear sites,\u201d the veteran politician noted.<\/p>\n
Jamaat-i-Islami chief Naeemur Rehman has said the decision \u201cundermines our national dignity and grace\u201d.<\/p>\n
Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan\u2019s former ambassador to the US, has termed the move \u201cunfortunate\u201d and said it did not reflect the public\u2019s views.<\/p>\n
Among other notable individuals was senior journalist Mariana Baabar, who wrote on X that \u201ctoday Pakistan does not look too good either\u201d, sharing the government\u2019s post announcing its intention to nominate Trump for the Nobel.<\/p>\n
Author and activist Fatima Bhutto asked: \u201cWill Pakistan withdraw its nomination for him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize?\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal lawmakers over the years.<\/p>\n
He has openly expressed his frustration over missing out on the prestigious award, most recently mentioning it during a February Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
Former US president Barack Obama won the prize soon after taking office in 2009, and Trump complained during his 2024 election campaign that his Democratic predecessor was not worthy of the honour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistani politicians on Sunday raised their concerns over the government\u2019s decision to recommend US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, as Washington joined Israel\u2019s war with Iran. The government had decided to nominate Trump for the prestigious award to hail his \u201cdecisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership\u201d during last month\u2019s Pak-India conflict, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10260,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10258\/revisions\/10260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}