Hyderabad: AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday sharply criticised Pakistan’s earlier proposal to nominate former US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, following the United States’ military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Owaisi questioned whether Pakistan supported Trump only to watch him launch airstrikes on a sovereign country.

“We should ask Pakistanis if for this they want Trump to get a Nobel Peace Prize,” Owaisi said, referring to the overnight US attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.

He also ridiculed Pakistan’s military leadership, saying, “Did Pakistan’s General (Army chief Asim Munir) have lunch with the US president for this? They all have been exposed today.”

Criticism of Netanyahu

Turning his attention to Israel, Owaisi condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing him as “a butcher of Palestinians”.

“This attack by the US has helped Netanyahu, who is a butcher of Palestinians... A genocide is happening in Gaza, and the US is not worried about it,” he said.

“This man (Netanyahu), he has butchered Palestinians... He is doing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank and in Gaza. History will remember him as the butcher of Palestinians,” Owaisi added.

Warning for India

Owaisi also expressed concern about the implications of the Israel–Iran conflict for India, warning of serious consequences should a full-scale war erupt in the region.

“We must also remember that more than 16 million Indians live in the Gulf and Middle East, and if that area erupts in a war, which unfortunately is very likely, then it will have a grave impact on the Indians living there,” he said.

He further highlighted the region’s economic importance to India. “The investments which Indian companies have made in all these Arab countries or Gulf countries, and a substantial amount of foreign investment comes from this area,” he said.

Dismissal of Iran’s nuclear threat

Calling the nuclear threat from Iran a “boogie”, Owaisi stated, “And lastly, this boogie has been created about Iran having nuclear weapons, or this and that, the same thing was used in Iraq, Weapons of Mass Destruction. Nothing, nothing came out.”

Background: Trump’s nobel nomination

Owaisi’s remarks come just hours after the United States, with support from Israel, launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, including Fordow, considered Iran’s main enrichment site for uranium to 60 percent.

Earlier, Pakistan’s government had announced through a statement on social media platform X that it would nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. This move was widely reported by US media, including The Hill.

Reacting to the announcement, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he did not expect to receive the honour, despite his involvement in mediating conflicts across the globe.

“No, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that's all that matters to me!” he wrote.

(agency inputs)