At Gaza Peace Summit In Egypt, Shehbaz Sharif Again Bats For Nobel Peace Prize For Trump

New Delhi: Even as he has already nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for ‘stopping the war’ between India and Pakistan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said during the ‘Gaza Peace Summit’ in Egypt he would like to once again recommend his name for the award for “achieving peace in Gaza”.

Calling Trump the “most genuine and most wonderful” candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, Sharif said on Monday (October 13) that not only did he save “millions of people” in South Asia by purportedly brokering peace between India and Pakistan, he had now done the same in Gaza through his ‘peace proposal’ for the beleaguered territory.

Trump, who travelled to Sharm el-Sheikh from Jerusalem for the summit involving various regional and global leaders after Hamas and Tel Aviv exchanged hostages and prisoners amid a ceasefire as part of his proposal, gushed at Sharif's “beautifully delivered” remarks.

India, which was represented by minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh at the event, in a statement reiterated its backing for Trump's proposal and said it supports a ‘negotiated two-state solution’ in Israel and Palestine.

Although Trump has claimed on numerous occasions that he precipitated the end to the four-day-long military conflict between India and Pakistan in May by using trade as leverage, New Delhi has denied a US role, maintaining that the ‘pause’ in hostilities took place on Islamabad's request.

However, Sharif and Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have backed Trump's claims of ending the conflict and recommended his name for the Peace Prize.

After a photo-op with the various leaders present at the summit and an address by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Trump while thanking the dignitaries present invited Sharif to address the event after having acknowledged his presence as well as his appreciation for “my favourite field marshal”.

“Today is one of the greatest days in contemporary history because peace has been achieved after untiring efforts” led by Trump, Sharif said.

With Islamabad having nominated Trump for his “outstanding, extraordinary contributions” to “[stopping] the war between India and Pakistan and then [achieving] ceasefire along with his very wonderful team”, Sharif said he would like to again recommend the name of “this great president” for the Nobel Peace Prize on the occasion.

“I genuinely feel,” he said to applause, “that he [Trump] is the most genuine and most wonderful candidate for the Peace Prize because he has brought not only peace in South Asia, saved millions of people … And today, here in Sharm el-Sheikh, achieving peace in Gaza, is saving millions of lives in the Middle East,” said the prime minister.

“Mr President, I would like to salute you for your exemplary leadership, your visionary leadership, and I think that you're the man the world needed most at this point in time,” Sharif said, adding to echo Trump's claim of ending ‘eight wars’ by getting his peace plan implemented in Gaza.

If Trump hadn't intervened in the India-Pakistan conflict, Sharif went on to say, “the war could have escalated” to such a level that “who would have lived to tell what happened?”

Sharif was the only leader apart from el-Sisi and Trump to take to the dais.

Returning to the dais, a chuffed Trump said: “Wow, I didn't expect that. Let's go home, there's nothing more I have to say, goodbye everybody. That was really beautiful and beautifully delivered, wow. Thank you very much.”

This year's Nobel Peace Prize went to Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado, who has backed Trump's intervention in her country.

India's denial of Trump's version of events, especially by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a phone call with the president in June, is reported to have soured the relationship between the two leaders. Still, Trump went on to say during his address on Monday that India is “a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top”.

“I think that Pakistan and India are gonna live very nicely together, right?” he asked, turning to a smilingly nodding Sharif. “He's–that's not a very–they are, they are,” the president said.

At the summit – where dignitaries including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and UN secretary general Antonio Guterres were among those present, although neither Hamas nor Israel were represented – Trump said the developments in war-ravaged Gaza mark what “may be the greatest deal of them all” and said “we're actually in stage three and four” of his 20-point-plan for the strip, although he did not elaborate.

He also signed a document on the ceasefire deal along with el-Sisi, Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – leaders of countries that have mediated talks between Israel and Hamas – although it has been noted that its exact contents are unknown.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said following the summit that New Delhi “ stands for peace in the Middle East and resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy”.

“We support the Gaza peace plan of President Trump and appreciate Egypt and Qatar for their valuable roles in achieving this and advancing the path to peace,” New Delhi said, adding that the summit was held “in line with President Trump's vision for lasting peace in the region”.

It continued: “This is also in line with India’s long standing support for a negotiated two State solution. India will support all efforts towards a lasting peace in the region.”

After Hamas released all the 20 living Israeli hostages in its custody in exchange for close to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hailed Trump's “unwavering peace efforts” as well as Netanyahu's “strong resolve”.

Although the exchange between Hamas and Israel in addition to the ceasefire mark a significant breakthrough, it has been noted that the way forward is unclear given Hamas's opposition to disarming despite Tel Aviv's insistence, Netanyahu's opposition to the Palestinian Authority and due to uncertainty over who will go on to rule the strip.

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