New Delhi:
Shehbaz Sharif seems to have preempted it, as did Donald Trump, though the Pakistani leader added a bit of hope for effect. Barely a couple of hours before Donald Trump was again passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize, Pakistan’s Prime Minister repeated that his country “nominated” the US President for it and hoped he would “receive due recognition this time”.
This time, the Nobel Committee in Norway named former United Nations human rights chief Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay as the 2026 laureate.
Pillay, an 85-year-old South African jurist with Indian Tamil roots, had a Trump joke to offer immediately after.
“If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump!” she said in a video posted by the Secretary General of Amnesty International in which she was being applauded. Last year’s laureate had indeed announced such a “share”.
Amazing moment. Navi Pillay has received the Nobel Peace Prize ! https://t.co/HL3r1PJzLO We are at the Nuremberg Court; I cannot think of a stronger symbol for her Nobel prize. We are all so thrilled! This is her first reactions upon hearing the news: https://t.co/Crbj6XdiyQ
— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) October 9, 2026
Trump later shared a post by a lawyer on the platform Truth Social that called Pillay a “hater” and said the award had been demeaned.
Shehbaz Sharif insisted in his X post beforehand, “President Donald Trump played a historic role in advancing peace in South Asia. His timely intervention helped bring Pakistan and India back from the brink and secure a ceasefire, that is holding till today.”
India has repeatedly said no third party had a role in ending the hostilities after it launched Operation Sindoor in May 2025 in response to a terrorist attack in Kashmir. Trump, who has claimed dozens of times that he ended the India-Pak conflict, launched the US-Israeli combined war against Iran in February.
He had said he’s unlikely to get the prize. But he added again on Wednesday that he’d got it already, in some way. “I was very honored to receive it indirectly last time by the recipient, who said nobody in history deserves it more than President Trump,” he told reporters at his office. He was referring to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 laureate, who gave him her medal at the White House in January. The Nobel Committee has said a prize cannot be transferred or shared once awarded.
The 2026 prize went to Navi Pillay “for her efforts to promote peace and international law”. Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes announced it in Oslo, Norway. The committee said Pillay had been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted. Pillay, a former judge of the International Criminal Court who later served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, now works as a jurist-lawyer at the ICC. She was a defence lawyer for Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists. The prize, worth 12 million Swedish crowns (about 1.2 million US dollars), will be presented in Oslo on December 10.
2026 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay’s commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career. Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion. A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time. This year’s laureate has significantly enlarged the scope and impact of international law. She has served as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Today Navi Pillay is a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide. In historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time. Learn more about the 2026 #NobelPeacePrize: https://t.co/JMjpp1jPKc #NobelPeacePrize #NobelPrize
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2026
Who Can Nominate?
Under the Nobel Foundation’s statutes, valid nominations may come only from qualifying individuals or bodies. These include members of national governments and parliaments, heads of state, judges of international courts in The Hague, certain university professors, directors of peace and foreign policy institutes, and former laureates. Self-nominations are not considered.
Pakistan announced multiple times last year that it had nominated Trump for the prize. The announcement came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly told Trump that India would never accept mediation. The leaders of Cambodia and Israel have also said they nominated Trump.
The committee does not confirm or deny nominations. It was reported to have registered 287 candidates this year, including 208 individuals and 79 organisations.
Nominations close on January 31. The five-member committee, appointed by the Norwegian parliament, then draws up a shortlist of 20-30 candidates for review by its permanent advisers. It decides by consensus or, failing that, by majority vote. Its decision cannot be appealed.
What’s India’s Position?
New Delhi has consistently rejected Trump’s claim to have brokered the May 10, 2025 “understanding” which ended four days of fighting. On May 13, 2025, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the ceasefire was reached directly between the two countries without third-party involvement.
A month later, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Modi had told Trump in a phone call that India agreed to the ceasefire only at Pakistan’s request. According to the Indian government, Modi said, “India does not and will never accept mediation.”
Trump has repeated his mediation claim around 80 times since May 2025.
(with PTI, AFP inputs)
