ISLAMABAD – More than 300,000 people have signed online petitions callingfor Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to receive a Nobel Peace Prize afterhe freed an Indian Pilot in a bid to defuse tensions with his country’sarch-rival neighbor.
The capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had become the focus ofrenewed hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals which have alarmed theinternational community.
Tensions have soared since a suicide bombing in Kashmir last month claimedby Pakistan-based militants killed 40 Indian paramilitaries.
The hashtag #NobelPeaceForImranKhanlink begantrending on Twitter on Thursday after Khan unexpectedly announced that thecaptured pilot would be released as a “peace gesture”.
Abhinandan — whose MiG fighter was shot down a day earlier as he chasedPakistani jets over disputed Kashmir — was returned to India late Friday.
Two similarly-worded campaigns on the change.org platform launched by usersin the UK and Pakistan called for Imran Khan to be nominated for nextyear’s prize “for his peace efforts and dialogues in the Asian region ondiverse conflicts”.
They have gained more than 240,000 and 60,000 digital signaturesrespectively.
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Pakistan’s information minister Fawad Chaudhry Saturday also submitted aresolution in the country’s parliament demanding Khan be given the awardfor his contribution to peace in the region.
“Imran Khan played a sagacious role in de-escalating tension betweenPakistan and India,” the resolution said.
In his speech announcing Abhinandan’s release, Khan referred to thecatastrophic consequences of nuclear war as he called for talks with NewDelhi.
Thousands of people around the world are allowed to make nominations forthe Peace Prize, including members of parliament and government ministers,former laureates and some university professors.
