By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed US President Donald Trump as a “genuine man of peace” on Monday and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize after Trump and other leaders signed a declaration to underpin a Gaza ceasefire.
Trump, on a whirlwind Middle East visit, addressed Israel’s parliament before joining Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish leaders in signing the document as guarantors at an Egypt-hosted summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The signing followed an Israel-Hamas exchange of hostages and prisoners, with Trump calling it a “tremendous day for the Middle East.”
Sharif, speaking at the ceremony, praised Trump’s “untiring efforts” in brokering the deal, saying the world would remember him as a leader who went out of his way to stop several wars. “Today is one of the greatest days in contemporary history, because peace has been achieved after untiring efforts led by President Trump who is genuinely a man of peace, who has relentlessly and untiringly worked throughout these months, day in and day out, to make this world a place to live with peace and prosperity,” Sharif said.
He thanked leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey for mediating an end to Israel’s two-year war on Gaza, which has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians. Under Trump’s plan to end the conflict, Hamas freed the last 20 surviving hostages held for two years in Gaza on Monday. Israel in exchange released 1,968 mostly Palestinian prisoners from its jails, the Israeli prison service said.
“This is a tremendous day for the world, it’s a tremendous day for the Middle East,” Trump told more than two dozen world leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh.” The document is going to spell out rules and regulations and lots of other things,” he said before signing, adding twice that “it’s going to hold up.”
Speaking to media alongside Sharif and other leaders after the signing, Trump praised Sharif and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, saying he wanted to thank Sharif and “my favourite Field Marshal.
Sharif noted Pakistan had previously nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his “outstanding and extraordinary contributions” in averting war between India and Pakistan and securing a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbors. “Today, again, I would like to nominate this great president for the Nobel Peace Prize because I genuinely feel that he’s the most deserving candidate,” Sharif said. “He has brought peace not only to South Asia, saving millions of lives, but also to the Middle East through his efforts in Gaza.”
Sharif described Trump as “the man the world needed most at this point in time,” saying history would remember him as the leader who “stopped seven and today, eight wars.” He thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for supporting regional peace efforts.” Had it not been for this gentleman [Trump],” Sharif said, “a full-scale war between two nuclear powers could have erupted. His timely intervention averted catastrophe.” Sharif said Trump’s “visionary and exemplary leadership” made him a symbol of hope and peace, with his name to be “remembered in golden words.” Trump, touched by Sharif’s words, said he did not expect such high praise for his regional peace efforts.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
