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At the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s praise for Donald Trump took an awkward turn when Trump asked if India and Pakistan would live nicely together.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) speaks as US President Donald Trump listens during the Gaza summit (Photo: AFP)
At the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif heaped lavish praise on US President Donald Trump, only to be met moments later with an awkward exchange, when Trump turned around, smiled, and asked him if India and Pakistan would “live very nicely together”.
Speaking before world leaders, Trump acknowledged Sharif’s presence but quickly added that he had actually been expecting Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir at the event.
The remark, delivered in front of Sharif, drew visible awkwardness from the Pakistani leader, who stood smiling uncomfortably behind Trump.
“Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan, and also, I have to say, my favourite field marshal from Pakistan, who’s not here, but the Prime Minister is here, and you’re going to give his regards. Where are you?” Trump asked, as Sharif stood behind him.
Moments later, as Trump praised India and Prime Minister Narendra Modicalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “very good friend” who has done a “fantastic job”, he turned back toward Sharif and asked, “I think that Pakistan and India are gonna live very nicely together, right?”
Caught off guard, Sharif smiled uneasily as Trump continued, “They are, they are… and they’re two great… I tell you… leaders, great leaders as far as I’m concerned.”
Sharif, earlier at the same Summit, had hailed Trump’s leadership and re-nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming that the US President intervened during the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May this year.
However, eagle-eyed social media users could not help but observe Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s reaction, as Sharif re-nominated Trump for the award.
As the exchange between Trump and Sharif, at the Egypt Summit, drew reactions, former Indian Foreign Secretary and current JNU Chancellor Kanwal Sibal wrote on X, “With this kind of burlesque comedy involving Pakistan at Trump’s urging, it is all the more reason Modi did not go to Sharm el-Sheikh.”
“Shehbaz Sharif was at his unctuous worst and boot polished Trump with all the servility at his command.”
Sibal added that Prime Minister Modi would have “kept his and India’s dignity and lost brownie points with Trump for failing to match Sharif’s obsequiousness.”
He further wrote, “Trump also humiliated Sharif by referring gratuitously to his favourite Field Marshal from Pakistan, who he noted was absent from the event. He clearly implied that in his eyes Munir was more important than Sharif.”
Meanwhile, Sibal’s post garnered multiple reactions, with one X user commenting, “He clearly implied that in his eyes Munir was more important than Sharif.”
“Take some cold water,” another one wrote to Sharif’s reaction.
“I loved the expressions of Georgia Meloni,” a third comment on Sibal’s post read.
On Monday, Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza under a ceasefire deal, and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as Donald Trump declared the end of the two-year-long war that has upended the broader Middle East.
Hours later, Trump convened Muslim and European leaders in Egypt to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip and the possibility of a wider regional peace, even as Hamas and Israel, both absent from the gathering, are yet to agree on the next steps.
The Israeli military said it had received all 20 hostages confirmed to be alive, after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross. The announcement prompted cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv.
ALSO READ | Donald Trump Appears To Snub UK PM Starmer At Egypt Summit, Internet Has A Field Day
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
October 14, 2025, 08:16 IST
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