The Pakistani government said on Saturday it has decided to formally recommend US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for his “decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership” during the recent India-Pakistan crisis.

The move by Pakistan was another indication of improved bilateral ties with the US.

In a post shared on X, the government said the international community had “bore witness to unprovoked and unlawful Indian aggression, which constituted a grave violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, resulting in the tragic loss of innocent lives, including women, children, and the elderly”.

Following the Indian aggression, Pakistan “launched Operation Bunyanum Marsoos — a measured, resolute, and precise military response”, the post read.

It noted that the response was executed to exercise the country’s “fundamental right to self-defence” and “carefully to re-establish deterrence”, defending its “territorial integrity while consciously avoiding civilian harm”.

The post further read that “at a moment of heightened regional turbulence”, Trump “demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi”.

It continued that the US president “de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation, ultimately securing a ceasefire and averting a broader conflict between the two nuclear states that would have had catastrophic consequences for millions of people in the region and beyond”.

“This intervention stands as a testament to his [Trump’s] role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue,” it added.

The government also acknowledged President Trump’s “sincere offers” to help resolve the longstanding dispute of Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan — an issue that lies at the heart of regional instability.

“Durable peace in South Asia would remain elusive until the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning Jammu and Kashmir,” it observed.

The government noted that President Trump’s leadership during the 2025 Pakistan-India crisis “manifestly showcases the continuation of his legacy of pragmatic diplomacy and effective peace-building”.

In conclusion, the post read that Pakistan remains hopeful that Trump’s “earnest efforts” will continue to contribute towards regional and global stability, particularly in the context of ongoing crises in the Middle East, including the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza and the deteriorating escalation involving Iran.

Trump has repeatedly said that the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US, and that the hostilities ended after he urged the countries to focus on trade instead of war.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintained in a recent conversation with Trump that the ceasefire was achieved through talks between the two countries’ militaries and not US mediation.

Governments can nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize. There was no immediate response from Washington. A spokesperson for the Indian government did not respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.

Mushahid Hussain, former chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence, suggested nominating Trump for the peace prize was justified.

“Trump is good for Pakistan,” Reuters quoted him as saying. “If this panders to Trump’s ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time.”

However, Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, termed the decision “unfortunate”.

“A man who has backed Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and called Israel’s attack on Iran as ‘excellent’. This move does not reflect the views of the people of Pakistan,” Lodhi wrote on X.

“It compromises our national dignity,” she wrote in response to Jamaat-i-Islami chief Naeemur Rehman, who expressed his agreement with the envoy’s previous post.

Trump complains about not getting Nobel prize for ‘stopping’ multiple wars

Shortly later, in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump complained that he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo.

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for this, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the war between India and Pakistan, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the war between Serbia and Kosovo, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping peace between Egypt and Ethiopia,” he said.

Trump campaigned for office as a “peacemaker” who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency.

Trump’s claims for the Abraham Accords being able to “unify the Middle East” have yet to be realised, with war breaking out between Israel and Iran, and no end in sight to the relentless bombardment by US ally Israel in Gaza.

Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal lawmakers over the years.

He has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the prestigious award, bringing it up as recently as February during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Former US president Barack Obama won the prize soon after taking office in 2009, and Trump complained during his 2024 election campaign that his Democratic predecessor was not worthy of the honour.

Additional input from AFP, Reuters