Shortly after the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced South African jurist Navanetham 'Navi' Pillay as the winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, Pakistan came forward with a claim.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country had nominated US President Donald Trump for the award. "President Donald Trump played a historic role in advancing peace in South Asia," Shehbaz Sharif posted on X.
He claimed that the India-Pakistan conflict in 2025 was ended following the intervention of Trump. Sharif wrote that Trump got the nations "back from the brink" and secured a "ceasefire that is holding till today".
"In recognition of his outstanding contribution, Pakistan had nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. We sincerely hope President’s efforts to promote peace and prevent conflict in our region receive due recognition this time," Sharif posted.
Nobel nominees are not official
Sharif's claims about nominating Trump for the Peace Prize cannot be officially verified because the Norwegian Nobel Committee that presents the award does not divulge the names of nominees as part of its policy.
"Neither the names of nominators nor of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize may be divulged until the start of the year marking the 50th anniversary of the awarding of a particular prize," the Committee says.
There is another side to Sharif's post that claims about the nomination. It reopens a debate about the alleged role of the US in ending the India-Pakistan conflict in 2025. It is a continuation of a remark Trump made during his speech at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
"The Prime Minister of Pakistan, terrific man, said that Donald Trump was responsible for saving 30 million lives, and probably many more than that," Trump said during his speech.
India has, however, consistently rejected the claims, saying the ceasefire was agreed without mediation. The Indian Prime Minister's Office said in a press release last June that "at no point during this entire sequence of events was there any discussion, at any level, on an India-U.S. Trade Deal, or any proposal for a mediation by the U.S. between India and Pakistan".
