Pakistan’s Diplomatic Disaster: How Its Gambit of Nominating Trump for Nobel Peace Prize Backfired

It was supposed to be a masterstroke of diplomatic flattery. On a Saturday morning in June, Pakistan’s government announced it would nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, praising his role as a “genuine peacemaker” who had averted nuclear war between India and Pakistan just weeks earlier.

Twenty-four hours later, that carefully calculated gambit lay in ruins as Trump authorized American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, forcing Pakistan into the uncomfortable position of condemning the very man they had just nominated for the world’s most prestigious peace award.

The spectacular diplomatic miscalculation has exposed the risks of Pakistan’s transactional approach to U.S. relations while simultaneously upending the delicate balance of power in South Asia, where India now finds its traditionally strong ties with Washington under unexpected strain.

The Peace Prize That Wasn’t

The saga began in May when Trump dramatically announced a ceasefire between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan after four days of the worst fighting between the neighbors in over half a century. Speaking to reporters, Trump declared he had “averted nuclear war” and “saved millions of lives” through what he described as intensive U.S. mediation.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was effusive in his praise at the time, thanking Trump “for his leadership and proactive role for peace in the region,” as reported by TIME. But India told a different story entirely, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri insisting the ceasefire was “worked out directly between the two countries” with no third-party involvement.

That fundamental disagreement should have been a warning sign. Instead, Pakistan doubled down.

“President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi,” Pakistan’s government declared in its Nobel nomination announcement, posted on social media with considerable fanfare.

The move came during a week when Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had been invited to lunch at the White House — the first time a Pakistani military leader had received such an invitation while a civilian government was in power in Islamabad.

The Ego Play

For Pakistan’s diplomatic establishment, the calculation seemed straightforward: flatter Trump’s well-documented desire for international recognition while securing policy concessions from an administration that had shown unusual willingness to engage with Islamabad.

“Trump is good for Pakistan,” Mushahid Hussain, a former chair of Pakistan’s Senate Defense Committee, told Al Jazeera when asked about the nomination. “If this panders to Trump’s ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time.”

The strategy appeared to be working. Trump had repeatedly offered to mediate between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, a proposition that delighted Pakistan but horrified India, which has long insisted the disputed region is a bilateral matter. Trump’s willingness to insert himself into South Asian disputes represented a significant shift from previous U.S. policy, which had generally favored India as a counterweight to China.

But Pakistan’s diplomatic architects had made a critical miscalculation: they had tied their credibility to an unpredictable president whose next move they couldn’t anticipate.

The Iran Strikes Change Everything

Late Saturday night, just hours after Pakistan’s Nobel nomination announcement, Trump authorized U.S. military strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, joining Israel’s ongoing conflict with Tehran, as reported by CNN and Bloomberg. The attacks, which Trump described as necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, put Pakistan in an impossible position.

Pakistan shares a 560-mile border with Iran and has significant strategic and economic interests in maintaining good relations with Tehran. The country’s energy sector depends heavily on Iranian supplies, and millions of Pakistani Shia Muslims look to Iran’s religious leadership for guidance.

By Sunday morning, Pakistan was forced to condemn the very man they had nominated for the peace prize just 24 hours earlier. The government called the strikes “a serious violation of international law” while reaffirming Pakistan’s support for “Iran’s right to self-defense,” according to TIME Magazine.

Pakistan was forced to condemn the very man they had nominated for the peace prize just 24 hours earlier. The government called the strikes “a serious violation of international law” while reaffirming Pakistan’s support for “Iran’s right to self-defense.” 

The contradiction was stark and immediate. Pakistani television host Talat Hussain captured the mood, calling Trump “Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza and cheerleader of its attacks on Iran” who “isn’t a candidate for any prize,” as reported by the Associated Press.

Domestic Backlash Mounts

The diplomatic whiplash has created a political crisis for Pakistan’s government. Former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Maleeha Lodhi didn’t mince words: the government “should be ashamed of this ill-conceived move” and “should now have the decency to revoke that decision.”

Senator Allama Raja Nasir, who had originally called the nomination “deeply misguided and ethically hollow,” doubled down after the Iran strikes. “To now authorize such a devastating attack on a neighboring country while simultaneously praising his actions as efforts toward ‘peace’ exposes a stark and troubling contradiction,” he said.

The criticism reflects broader concerns within Pakistan about the government’s handling of foreign policy. Many Pakistanis view Trump’s unwavering support for Israel’s war in Gaza as disqualifying him from any peace recognition, regardless of his role in South Asian diplomacy.

India’s Unexpected Advantage

For India, Pakistan’s diplomatic disaster has created an unexpected opportunity. The fallout from the Nobel nomination saga has highlighted the limitations of Pakistan’s relationship with Trump while simultaneously demonstrating India’s principled stance on third-party mediation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s firm rejection of U.S. mediation claims — telling Trump directly that “India does not and will never accept mediation” in its dispute with Pakistan — now looks prescient rather than stubborn. India’s refusal to play along with Trump’s narrative has protected it from the kind of credibility crisis now facing Pakistan.

However, India faces its own challenges. Trump’s willingness to engage with Pakistan’s military leadership and his repeated offers to mediate on Kashmir represent a significant departure from the strategic partnership that had developed under previous administrations. The Trump administration’s transactional approach to diplomacy means India can no longer take U.S. support for granted.

“The traditional assumption that America would always side with India over Pakistan is being tested,” said one senior Indian diplomat who requested anonymity. “We’re having to work much harder to maintain our position in Washington.”

The Limits of Transactional Diplomacy

Pakistan’s Nobel nomination debacle illustrates the risks of personality-driven diplomacy in an era of rapid geopolitical change. The attempt to curry favor with Trump through public flattery might have worked in different circumstances, but it failed to account for the president’s unpredictability and the complexity of regional relationships.

The episode also highlights the challenge facing middle powers like Pakistan as they navigate between competing great powers. Pakistan’s attempt to balance its relationships with the United States, China, and Iran has become increasingly difficult as these powers find themselves in direct confrontation.

For Trump, the controversy is unlikely to diminish his claims of diplomatic success. On Friday, before the Iran strikes, he had posted on social media about the various conflicts he claimed to have resolved, including India and Pakistan. “I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do,” he wrote, “but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!”

Whether Pakistan quietly withdraws its nomination or maintains it despite the contradiction remains to be seen. What’s clear is that the 24-hour diplomatic disaster has damaged Pakistan’s credibility while demonstrating the limits of transactional diplomacy in an increasingly complex world.

As one former Pakistani diplomat put it: “We tried to play Trump’s game, but we forgot that in Trump’s game, the rules can change overnight.”