'Zero dignity': Pak faces brickbats within and outside over Trump Nobel proposal

Pakistan's move to nominate US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize seems to be a bolt from the blue, not only for geopolitical experts, but for Pakistanis and the country's leaders themselves.

Reminding the government of Trump's support to the "genocidal war" in Gaza and Israel's bombing of Iran, several Pakistani activists and authors took to social media to slam Pakistan.

The brickbats on X followed shortly after Pakistan formally announced it had proposed Trump's name for the Nobel Prize, crediting his "decisive diplomatic intervention" during the hostilities between India and Pakistan.

This despite India making it clear on several occassions that the ceasefire was directly negotiated between the two nations upon Pakistan's insistence at the height of Operation Sindoor.

'INGRATIATION CAN'T SERVE AS POLICY'

Pakistani journalist and author Zahid Hussain said it was pathetic that the government recommended the Nobel for a person who backed the "genocidal war in Gaza" and was planning to invade Iran.

"Trump has called Israel's attack on Iran 'excellent'. And the Pakistani government has recommended him for the Nobel Peace prize... So pathetic on the part of the Pakistan government. A man who has backed genocidal war in Gaza and planing to invade Iran," Hussain tweeted.

Maleeha Lodhi, who previously served as Pakistan's ambassador at the United Nations, said "ingratiation" cannot serve as policy and called the government's move unfortunate.

"It is unfortunate that the govt is recommending Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. A man who has backed Israel's genocidal war in Gaza... This move does not reflect the views of the people of Pakistan," Lodhi tweeted.

Pakistan's announcement came days after Trump hosted Pakistani army chief, Field Marshal, Asim Munir at the White House.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly previously said that Trump invited Munir for lunch after the army chief promised to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize for preventing a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

ACTIVISTS, SENATOR CALL OUT PAKISTAN

Several Pakistani activists also called out the government, slamming the "puppet regime" for having "zero dignity".

"The genocide in Gaza is still happening because Trump wants it. Another war in the Middle East is brewing because Trump called for it. And yet, Pakistan's puppet regime, eager to please the empire, recommends him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Zero dignity," Rida Rashid tweeted.

Another activist, Noor-e-Maryam Kanwer, said Pakistan has once again proved that it would "remain a rentier state".

Perhaps the strongest criticism came from Senator Allama Raja Nasir, who called Pakistan's move a "deeply misguided and ethically hollow decision".

"Such a nomination undermines the very principles of peace and justice the award purports to uphold. Moreover, this gesture matters little, as the Nobel Peace Prize has long served as a Western tool to honour its own and advance its geopolitical agenda," he tweeted.

BEHIND NOBEL PRIZE PUSH FOR TRUMP

But, why has Pakistan suddenly warmed up to Trump despite slamming Israeli aggression in Gaza on several forums, knowing fully well that it had US backing?

Officially, Pakistan cited Trump's "robust diplomatic engagement" with both Islamabad and New Delhi in helping stop the hostilities last month. The statement called Trump's intervention proof of his role as a "genuine peacemaker".

The timing of Pakistan's recommending Trump for a Nobel Prize is also worth noting. It comes as Trump, on several occasions, offered to resolve the Kashmir issue.

"I will work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at, concerning Kashmir," Trump had said earlier this year.

India as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as recently as this week, have told the US President that Delhi would never accept third-party mediation with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. India has long maintained Kashmir as an integral part of its territory and said any future talks with Pakistan would be on the Pakistan-occupied territory.

With its strategic Nobel Prize push, Pakistan seems to be seeking US support for its position on Kashmir.