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• Govt lauds US president’s efforts to defuse tensions with India
• COAS interacts with think tanks, scholars, journalists in Washington
• Invites US, global cooperation in IT, mineral sectors
KARACHI: Pakistan has decided to formally recommend US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan conflict last month.
An official press release issued after Saturday midnight said the Indian aggression was a “grave violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, resulting in the tragic loss of innocent lives”.
“At a moment of heightened regional turbulence, 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, 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,” said the statement.
Pakistan “acknowledges and greatly admires” President Trump’s offers to help resolve the long-standing Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, the statement said, adding the issue lay at the heart of regional instability.
The move by Pakistan was another indication of improved bilateral ties with the US.
A day ago, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Munir met President Trump over a luncheon, becoming Pakistan’s first serving army chief to hold a face-to-face meeting with a sitting US president.
Later, in an interaction in Washington, DC, with prominent US think tanks and representatives of the strategic affairs institutions, the army chief “underscored the immense potential for a broader, multidimensional relationship built upon mutual respect, shared strategic interests and economic interdependence”, ISPR said in a statement.
Evaluating the Pakistan-US partnership, Field Marshal Munir underlined the “historical convergences between the two nations, particularly in areas such as counterterrorism, regional security and economic development,”according to ISPR.
The army chief also highlighted Pakistan’s “unwavering commitment to regional peace and stability, and its constructive role in fostering a rules-based international order”.
He also noted the “malign influence of certain regional actors in sponsoring and perpetuating terrorism as a tool of hybrid warfare”.
Field Marshal Munir emphasised that Pakistan had been on the “front lines of the global war against terrorism, having rendered immense sacrifices — both human and economic — in pursuit of a safer and more secure world”.
During the session, COAS Munir also invited international partners to explore collaborative opportunities in various sectors to “unlock shared prosperity”.
He highlighted Pakistan’s “remarkable untapped potential, particularly in the domains of information technology, agriculture, and its vast and underexploited reserves in the mining and mineral sectors”, echoing topics discussed in his meeting with Mr Trump and previous Pak-US interactions.
The army chief also provided a detailed exposition of Pakistan’s “balanced approach to regional and global conflicts, advocating for dialogue, diplomacy, and adherence to international law”, the ISPR stated.
He reaffirmed that Pakistan continues to play a “responsible and proactive role in mitigating regional tensions and promoting cooperative security frameworks”.
His remarks come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East as the Israel-Iran conflict escalates and the US weighs possible military intervention.
Participants noted the “openness and clarity of the COAS’s perspectives and appreciated Pakistan’s consistent and principled policies”, the ISPR said.
“The interaction was marked by a spirit of mutual understanding and was widely regarded as a positive step towards enhancing strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the United States,” it added.
The interaction also provided an opportunity to articulate Pakistan’s principled stance on key regional and global issues, and to deepen understanding of Pakistan’s strategic outlook, ISPR noted.
Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2025
