Pakistan PM Sharif’s ‘Draft’ blunder sparks row: Was Iran message pre-approved by Donald Trump?
As Trump's deadline for Iran approached, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought a two-week extension, leading to a ceasefire announcement. While tensions remain, both sides accuse each other of violations.
As US President Donald Trump’s 8 PM deadline for Iran drew closer on Monday, Pakistan swiftly stepped in to mediate between the two warring countries. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to social media to push for more time and de-escalation.
Trump on Monday issued an extraordinary warning that "a whole civilization will die tonight" if his demands were not met.
Following this, Sharif, adopting Trumpian parlance, said in a post on X on Tuesday afternoon that diplomacy was “progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully” and that he was requesting that Trump extend the deadline for two weeks. He then tagged Trump and other top advisers.
The move appeared to pay off, at least for a day, as President Trump announced just hours later that he was agreeing to a two-week cease-fire with Iran.
But the post came under scrutiny after Sharif initially shared a message labelled *Draft - Pakistan’s PM Message on X*
As per a New York Post article, the White House had already reviewed and approved the statement before Sharif shared it, ‘a sign that the diplomatic channels were much more active than the message on social media suggested’.
A White House official reportedly denied that Trump wrote the statement, and the Pakistani Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran ceasefire under strain: Trump issues stark warning ahead of talks
Trump said that he would be keeping US troops in the Persian Gulf ahead of talks with Iran, as the two-week ceasefire shows signs of strain amid escalating tensions over the Lebanon issue. Both sides accused each other of violating the truce that was announced on Tuesday after six weeks of fighting.
Despite the escalating rhetoric, there were signs the ceasefire was largely holding, with a notable decline in attacks across Arab states in the Persian Gulf.
US Vice President JD Vance said Washington never suggested that fighting between Israel and Tehran-aligned Hezbollah in Lebanon would cease. However, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf argued that continued strikes on Hezbollah—along with what Tehran described as an Israeli drone incursion into its territory overnight—constituted clear violations of the agreement.
If Iran doesn’t comply with the agreement, “which is highly unlikely, then the ‘shootin’ starts’ — bigger and stronger than anyone has ever seen before,” Trump said in a Truth Social post shortly before midnight in Washington on Wednesday. “It was agreed a long time ago … NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE.”
Diplomatic efforts are continuing, with US and Iranian officials set to begin talks in Islamabad on Saturday. Vance is expected to lead the American delegation, while Iranian negotiators are due to arrive in the Pakistani capital on Thursday.