The Pakistani government had previously praised US President Donald Trump for his “pivotal leadership” in brokering a ceasefire with India, even formally nominating him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

But Trump’s role in the war on Iran has now sparked fierce debate in Pakistan, after he brokered and then announced a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, only for the US to launch strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities shortly afterward, escalating fears of a broader Middle East war.

In a statement issued early Saturday, just hours before US B-2 bombers departed Missouri for Iran, Islamabad credited Trump with a “legacy of pragmatic diplomacy” for helping ease tensions with India following a deadly attack in Kashmir in April.

By Sunday, however, the same government was sharply condemning the US strikes as a breach of international law and warning against military escalation. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to voice his concerns, urging diplomacy as the only viable path forward.

Government of Pakistan Recommends President Donald J. Trump for 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

The Government of Pakistan has decided to formally recommend President Donald J. Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal…

— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) June 20, 2025

Backlash ensues

Opposition lawmakers, including members of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, along with activists, writers, and former diplomats, sharply criticized the government’s decision to nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. A senator from the conservative Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) party even submitted a formal resolution calling for the nomination to be withdrawn.

Former Pakistani ambassador to the US, Maleeha Lodhi, condemned the move on social media, writing, “Those who recommended this should show some remorse and apologise to the people of Pakistan.”

Speaking later to The Guardian, she added, “Why should Pakistan nominate a man who violated international law by bombing Iran? It is a very ill-conceived move by the government and it should rescind it, it should withdraw it.”

Trump's quest for Nobel Prize in desperate straits

Trump, who has openly expressed a desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize and has often criticized its award to Barack Obama, has been nominated multiple times under rules set by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. These rules allow nominations from national lawmakers, government officials, certain academics, and members of select international institutions.

Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, announced this week that he had withdrawn his nomination of Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, saying he had "lost any sort of faith and belief" in Trump’s ability to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump, for his part, downplayed the issue in a post on his Truth Social platform, writing, “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!” 

Government defends controversial decision

In Pakistan, government ministers and lawmakers have defended their controversial nomination. Senator Musadik Malik, who also serves as a federal minister, argued that Trump played a pivotal role in preventing a nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan and made "serious efforts" in attempting to resolve the war in Ukraine.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif echoed that support, insisting that the government stood by its decision. He pointed to Trump’s recent push for a ceasefire between Iran and "Israel" as further proof of his peacemaking efforts, completely sidelining the unprovoked strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities protected by law. “I believe there will be no such person in recent history whose peace efforts have stopped major confrontations, one after the other,” Asif told local media.

But critics remain unconvinced. Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who chaired the Senate committee on human rights, dismissed the move as “crass flattery". He said, “Since Trump was already appreciative of Pakistan’s role in India and Pakistan conflict, I don’t know what was the need for nominating Trump for the Nobel peace prize."