April 8, 2026, 4:32 p.mApril 8, 2026, 4:49 p.m
No more bombs, no more attacks in the Gulf region. The weapons between the USA, Israel and Iran should rest for two weeks. This is how long ships are allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz again.
While Donald Trump presents himself as the big winner – and Iran also proclaims the ceasefire a victory, the world can thank one man in particular: Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
A few hours before the deadline set by Donald Trump for Iran, Sharif once again asked both sides to make concessions. What happened behind the scenes remains his secret; he officially asked Trump to refrain from attacks for two weeks – so that a final peace solution can be found through diplomatic channels. He asked Iran for a goodwill gesture.
Shehbaz Sharif in Pakistan Parliament 2025.Image: keystone
Even Donald Trump acknowledged the Pakistani prime minister’s important role, mentioning him in the first sentence of his official statement: “Based on discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir… I agree to suspend the bombing and attack on Iran for a period of two weeks.”
Nawaz Sharif was also Prime Minister of Pakistan. For decades, the country’s politics were shaped by two families. The Sharifs were one of them. They are considered conservative and close to the military.Image: keystone
Shehbaz’s older brother Nawaz pioneered the career of the current Prime Minister. He founded the PML-N, the Pakistan Muslim League, after the family steel empire was broken up under the nationalization policies of then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Nawaz first became finance minister of the Punjab region and became prime minister of Pakistan for the first time in 1990. His three reigns (1990-1993, 1997-1999 and 2013-2017) were characterized by a bitter power struggle against Benazir Bhutto. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s daughter had become leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and accused Nawaz of corruption.
Benazir Bhutto and her family were the Sharifs’ great opponents in Pakistan for a long time.Image: EPA
Bhutto’s allegations turned out to be correct following the publication of the Panama Papers. Nawaz Sharif had not declared foreign assets – offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and real estate in London that his children used to enrich themselves. Nawaz was forced to resign and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $10.6 million fine. The court also ruled that he was never allowed to hold political office in Pakistan again.
This paved the way for his younger brother Shehbaz. He also initially got involved successfully in the Punjab region and rose to become head of government there. In the wake of the political unrest in Pakistan and the military coup against his brother in 1999, Sharif fled to Saudi Arabia. He was only able to return from there in 2007.
Sharif’s career also did not go smoothly. In 2009 he was removed from office for 34 days and in 2018 he was briefly arrested on corruption charges. If his brother fought primarily against the Bhuttos, Shehbaz’s arch enemy is called Imran Khan. He replaced him as Prime Minister in 2022 after a vote of no confidence. Khan had spoken out in favor of remaining neutral towards Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law. He also met Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Former cricketer Imran Khan is Shehbaz Sharif’s opponent.Image: keystone
The fact that Shehbaz Sharif is still Prime Minister today is thanks to a deal with the People’s Party – the very party that hurt his brother so badly – and extremely dubious elections in 2024.
Has a good connection to Donald Trump (l.): Shehbaz Sharif (r.).Image: AP
Imran Khan’s PTI party was excluded from the elections. He himself survived an assassination attempt in which he was shot twice in the leg. Khan blamed a general, a former interior minister and Shehbaz Sharif for the planning. There were two attacks the day before the elections – and on election day itself the mobile phone network was switched off “for security reasons”.
The top candidate for the PML-N was not Shehbaz, but his brother Nawaz Sharif. With the help of the military, he had regained influence, but above all, thanks to a decision by the Supreme Court, he was allowed to run for political office again.
The actual election winners were the independent parties – many of them supporters of Khan. The accusation of election manipulation by the military and the Supreme Court was never refuted. Because the People’s Party and the PML-N were able to agree on Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister, he became prime minister again with the help of the PPP – and now the angel of peace in Lahore.
Trump takes the big lead in Davos, Shehbaz Sharif is right behind him.Image: keystone
Maybe it needed someone like him. Someone who is well-versed in politics, who comes from a very wealthy family and knows how to court power-drunk billionaires. Shehbaz Sharif already seemed to have a good connection with Donald Trump in Davos. At Trump’s signing ceremony for the Board of Peace, of which Pakistan is a full member, he stood right behind the US President. Now he was in charge of the ceasefire between the USA, Israel and Iran and invited the conflicting parties to Islamabad for peace negotiations on Friday. Sharif is playing his role in the foreground – and can still achieve a lot with it. As long as the political maelstrom in his own country doesn’t swallow him up.
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