Pakistan is celebrating, calling itself the peacemaker in the US-Iran ceasefire, to the extent that its media is now calling for a Nobel Peace Prize to be given to PM Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir. However, the reality seems to be the opposite, portraying the ongoing frenzy as ironic.
A report by the Financial Times says it was the US which pushed Pakistan to broker a temporary truce in fighting with Iran. This raises questions and scepticism about Islamabad’s actual role.
It noted that this came even as US President Donald Trump escalated rhetoric against Tehran, at one point claiming the country was โbeggingโ for a truce.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said the Trump administration had been pressing Pakistan for weeks to persuade Iran to agree to a pause in fighting, including reopening the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
โPakistanโs crucial role, as a Muslim majority neighbour and intermediary, was to sell it to Tehran,โ the report said.
Pakistan media’s Nobel Peace Prize narrative
Sections of Pakistani media have claimed that the countryโs diplomatic intervention in the Iran-United States crisis merits consideration for the Nobel Peace Prize, arguing that Islamabad played a key role in preventing a potentially devastating war.
As per the narrative, Pakistanโs leadership helped create conditions that encouraged dialogue over military escalation, positioning the country as a critical intermediary between Washington and Tehran.
Pakistani media reports have asserted that the Nobel Peace Prize, which recognises contributions to peace, conflict resolution and international cooperation, would be an appropriate acknowledgement of Pakistanโs efforts.
The Financial Report again contradicts this narrative, stating that Pakistan was only chosen by the US over the belief that Iran is more likely to accept the ceasefire plan if it is delivered to it by an Islamic nation.ย
Shehbaz Sharifย mocked over ‘draft’ ceasefire post
Another example of minimal effort came from none other than Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, who copied and pasted a draft version of an X post from his official account.
In the post,ย Sharif urged the US to extend the ceasefire deadline with Iran and called on Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The message drew attention after the word โDraftโ appeared in what was presented as an official statement, raising questions about how the post was prepared and whether it was published prematurely.ย
Netizens were quick to quip that the draft came from another nation’s leadership.
This reflects that Islamabad was only used as a channel and did not make any concrete efforts to make the truce happen but rather did what it was told.
Also read:ย Why Lebanon has become a deal-breaker in the fragile US-Iran ceasefire