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Pakistan’s Nobel Peace Prize nod to Trump stirs India concerns of US tilt to Islamabad

Timing of Nobel nomination appears aimed at reinforcing Trump’s claim of ceasefire mediation in India-Pakistan conflict, analysts say

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Pakistani activists hold portraits of Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir during a rally in Karachi on May 21. Munir’s recent meeting with US President Donald Trump has raised concerns in India. Photo: EPA-EFE
Biman Mukherji
Pakistan’s decision to nominate US President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize – just days after a rare White House meeting between Trump and Pakistan’s army chief – has raised concerns in India, where analysts say the move could signal Islamabad is regaining strategic favour in Washington at New Delhi’s expense.

The nomination was formally filed on Saturday by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who praised Trump’s role in helping mediate a ceasefire during last month’s cross-border flare-up between India and Pakistan. Dar credited Trump with “critical and pragmatic diplomacy” that averted wider conflict, describing the intervention as an act of “stellar statesmanship”.

The gesture followed a high-profile lunch hosted by Trump last week for General Asim Munir – the first time a Pakistani military leader has been received at the White House under Islamabad’s civilian government – and has been widely interpreted as a symbolic endorsement of Trump’s claim that he defused tensions between the two nuclear rivals.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had declined Trump’s invitation to visit the White House citing prior commitments, has remained publicly silent.
US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting at the White House in Washington on February 13. Modi has been silent on Pakistan’s nomination of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting at the White House in Washington on February 13. Modi has been silent on Pakistan’s nomination of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Photo: Reuters
Observers say, however, that eyebrows have been raised in Delhi over the optics of Trump extending such visible warmth to Munir, and the timing and framing of the Nobel nomination, which appears aimed at reinforcing Trump’s long-standing narrative that his personal diplomacy helped prevent open conflict between India and Pakistan.
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