Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had encountered a series of embarrassing moments during the so-called Board of Peace meeting in Washington on Thursday. The awkward moments of Sharif "bootlicking" US President Donald Trump for his alleged intervention in last year's India-Pakistan conflict created a meme fest on the internet, with social media users pointing out the weird expression on his face.
Stand up Shehabz Sharif!
On one occasion, the President asked Shehbaz to stand up and then started praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he knew very little about him and called PM Modi a very good friend of his. On social media platforms, crazy users pointed out how Shehbaz's face turned bizarre.
Trump asked Sharif to stand up and then said, "I spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. He's excited. He's watching us right now." “Pakistan and India. That was a big one. I think you should actually stand, come please stand just for a second. Pakistan and India," Trump asked Shehbaz like a master of him.
Embarassing moment for Shehabz Sharif
"And I got on the phone with both of them, and I knew him (Sharif) a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well, actually. I got to know Pakistan through a little trade. They were trying to make too good a deal, and I would get a little upset with them,” Trump added.
Although Trump later praised Shehbaz Sharif and his field marshal Asim Munir but the earlier expressions are now ruling the internet.
And in the end, they got what they wanted, right? And they made a good deal, and I got to like them, the Prime Minister, the Field Marshal, who's a tough man, a tough good fighter, serious fighter. I like good fighters, actually," Trump said.
Sharif's "bootlicking" attempt
In return, Sharif seemed more interested in buttering Trump, rather than the agenda of the peace board meeting. He called Trump “a man of peace” and dubbed him a “saviour of South Asia”.
“Your timely and very effective intervention to achieve a ceasefire between India and Pakistan potentially averted the loss of tens of millions of people,” Sharif said. “You have truly proved to be a man of peace. And let me say you are truly a saviour of South Asia.”
“We deeply appreciate your unique initiative and your dynamic leadership in advancing peaceful solutions to conflicts across the globe,” Sharif said at the Board of Peace meeting in Washington.
He, in fact, described Trump’s diplomacy as “bold” and said it had brought calm to “many international serious hotspots.”
Trump's desperate attempt for ceasefire credit
Notably, Sharif was paying gratitude to President Trump that India has rejected on multiple occassions. Trump has claimed credit for stopping the India-Pakistan conflict more than 80 times since May 10 last year, when he announced on social media that the two neighbours had agreed to a "full and immediate" ceasefire after talks mediated by the US.
India has consistently denied any third-party intervention.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.
However, it was Sharif who was desperately giving credit to him for the negotiations.
(With inputs from agency)