ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has decided to formally recommend United States (US) President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for his “decisive diplomatic intervention” during last month’s India-Pakistan military standoff, it said on Saturday.

The statement came after Trump took credit for a peace deal negotiated in Washington between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda and complained he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo.

Trump campaigned for office as a “peacemaker” who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency. Indian officials have denied that he had any role in its ceasefire with Pakistan.

In a post on X, the Pakistani government said President Trump demonstrated “great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship” through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation last month.

“This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue,” it said, appreciating Trump’s efforts that ultimately secured a ceasefire and averted a broader conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

The military standoff was triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied complicity.

The four-day standoff had raised fears of wider conflict between the South Asian rivals who have fought multiple wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir. Trump also offered to mediate the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India.

“Pakistan also acknowledges and greatly admires President Trump’s sincere offers to help resolve the longstanding dispute of Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan — an issue that lies at the heart of regional instability,” the government said.

“Durable peace in South Asia would remain elusive until the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning Jammu and Kashmir.”
Islamabad hoped that Trump’s legacy of “pragmatic diplomacy and effective peace-building” will continue and help resolve various ongoing crises in the Middle East.

“Pakistan remains hopeful that his earnest efforts will continue to contribute toward regional and global stability, particularly in the context of ongoing crises in the Middle East, including the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza and the deteriorating escalation involving Iran,” the government added.

KHAIRPUR: Sukhai intently moved about the tunnel farm, plucking out bitter gourds under the harsh, relentless sun. The vegetable is grown usually during the summer months but in the fields of Sindh’s Thari Mirwah village, that isn’t necessarily so.

Sukhai, a 23-year-old intermediate student, is one of several women in her village in district Khairpur battling the effects of climate change through tunnel farming. The agricultural technique extends the growing season of crops by using plastic-covered, greenhouse-like structures to create a controlled environment. These tunnels protect crops from adverse weather conditions, allowing for earlier or later harvests of vegetables.

At Thari Mirwah, these tunnels are formed by fixing rods into the ground in an arch shape, forming a row of hoops. During the winter months, these rods are covered with polythene sheets to protect the crops from rain and cold weather, extending their growing season.

“In these tunnels, we grow off-season and seasonal vegetables,” Sukhai, who only uses her first name, told Arab News. “We now have cultivated bitter gourd, sponge gourd and cucumber,” she said, carrying the vegetable in a basket.

Pakistan is consistently ranked among the world’s worst-affected countries due to climate change. Irregular weather patterns, which include excessive rains and droughts, have hit the country’s agriculture sector. For example, cotton has been the worst-hit crop, with its produce decreasing to five million bales a year this financial year from a record 15 million.

Cataclysmic floods, triggered by the melting of glaciers and unusually heavy rains, killed over 1,700 people and inflicted damages worth $33 billion in June 2022. To help locals recover from the economic losses of the floods, international relief organization Malteser International BMZ and the Sindh government-funded Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) joined hands to build 10 tunnel farms in Kharirah, Pir Budhro, Sabar Rind, Mehar Veesar, and Hindyari areas in the southern Sindh province.

Sukhai said the floods of 2022 destroyed all of her crops and agricultural lands, dealing a massive economic blow to her family. Now her and several other women of the village are trying to make ends meet through tunnel farming.

Kanwal Hussain, a district project officer at SRSO, said the women farmers are producing 10-15 kilograms of vegetables daily on their 50 by 50 tunnel farms. Malteser International has provided 570,000 euros in funds for the tunnel farming project.

“For tunnel farming, we have selected vulnerable communities which have very little land available for farming,” Hussain explained, adding that all they required to make a tunnel farm was land 100 feet in length and width.

In its recent assessment, the World Bank said 45% of Pakistanis live below the poverty line, up from the previous rate of 39.8%.

Rukhsana is one such 50-year-old mother of five, who is fighting off poverty in Thari Mirwah by growing climate-resistant vegetables.

“I have five kids and my husband is jobless so we grow these vegetables,” Rukhsana told Arab News. “We eat these vegetables as well as sell them when the villagers come to buy some.”

The women farmers say they earn as much as Rs50,000 ($176) profit every month, which is then shared between a three-member Business Development Group that cultivates each of the 10 tunnel farms.

“We are three members who work and grow these vegetables together and share the profits,” Sukhai, who is using her earnings to support her family and complete her education, said.

And the going is getting tough for her as she has a widowed mother and nine siblings to look after.

Hussain, on the other hand, is a bit concerned about the surging temperature in Pakistan. She hoped to convince her foreign donors to extend the tunnel farming project to other areas prone to floods and climate disasters.

“The temperature here stays between 45 to 50 degrees [Celsius] during the daytime and surges to as much as 51 degrees Celsius,” Hussain said.

Tunnel farming is not only a means of sustenance but is also helping people like Sukhai dream big. She wants to complete her studies and help her family out with the money she earns.

“I want to complete my studies to do a job. I want to become a doctor,” Sukhai said.