After Pakistan announced that it would nominate US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday, several of the country's activists and authors took to social media to criticise the move.
Pakistan stated regarding the decision, “President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation. This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker.”
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In response, Pakistani journalist and author Zahid Hussain hit back at the government, saying that their decision to nominate Trump, a person who backed the war in Gaza, was “pathetic”.
"Trump has called Israel's attack on Iran 'excellent'. And the Pakistani government has recommended him for the Nobel Peace prize... So pathetic on the part of the Pakistan government. A man who has backed the genocidal war in Gaza and is planning to invade Iran," Hussain said in a post on X.
Also Read: Why Pakistan nominated Donald Trump for Nobel Peace prize
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: Why Pakistan nominated Donald Trump for Nobel Peace prize
{{/usCountry}}Maleeha Lodhi, who previously served as Pakistan's ambassador at the United Nations, said "ingratiation" cannot serve as policy and called the government's move unfortunate.
"It is unfortunate that the government is recommending Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. A man who has backed Israel's genocidal war in Gaza... This move does not reflect the views of the people of Pakistan," Lodhi wrote in her post.
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Senator Allama Raja Nasir called Pakistan's move a “deeply misguided and ethically hollow decision” and accused the government of using the nomination as a means to further their geopolitical agenda rather than uphold peace.
During a speech last year, Trump had said that “If I were named Obama, I would have had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds.”
On Friday, he told reporters, “They should give me the Nobel Prize for Rwanda, and if you look, the Congo, or you could say Serbia, Kosovo, you could say a lot of them. The big ones are India and Pakistan. I should have gotten it four or five times.”