Trump Calls Pakistan’s Sharif ‘Highly Respected’ After Two-Week Truce Appeal

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had asked President Trump for a two-week ceasefire and a two-week extension of the deadline.
Sharif called for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open and for a full ceasefire, saying he hoped for long-term peace and stability in the region.
Trump described Sharif as a globally highly respected figure, and the White House said a response to the proposal would come soon.

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*Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Donald Trump at the White House last year. Photo: White House*

Jacqui Heinrich, a Fox News anchor and senior White House correspondent, wrote on X that she had just spoken briefly with President Donald Trump. She said he did not immediately respond to a request to extend the deadline by two weeks.

Trump did say, "One thing I can tell you is that I know him very well," and described the person as "a very highly respected man globally," according to Heinrich. The remark was interpreted as referring to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who had proposed a two-week ceasefire.

Sharif wrote on X at about 3:17 p.m. that he was earnestly asking Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks. He also urged "our Iranian brothers" to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for the same two-week period as a gesture of goodwill.

He called on all parties to observe a full ceasefire for two weeks and said he hoped diplomacy could ultimately end the war and contribute to long-term peace and stability in the region. Sharif tagged Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He did not tag any Israeli officials.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been briefed on the proposal and that a response would come soon.

Sharif, whom Trump described as someone he knows very well, belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and has served two terms as Pakistan's prime minister since 2022. He also served as chief minister of Punjab for 12 years. He was removed from that post after Pakistan's 1999 coup and was forcibly exiled to Saudi Arabia over allegations linked to a 1998 murder case. He was acquitted in 2008.

He has maintained friendly ties with Pakistan's military, including a visit to the White House with Army Chief Asim Munir in September last year for a meeting with Trump. Sharif is also known for calling Trump "a man of peace" in October last year and nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in resolving eight major conflicts.