Critics accuse Norway’s Partiet Sentrum party of “using a possible Peace Prize nomination to win votes”
OSLO/Mubashar Bhatti
The Partiet Sentrum, a Norwegian political party, has come under fire for nominating former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan for the Nobel Peace Prize for services related to human rights and democracy — a move that has ignited a wave of criticism against the party in the Scandinavian country.
The Norwegian party announced via social media that they, in collaboration with an unnamed individual possessing nomination rights, had put forward the name of the ousted premier, Anadoulu Agency reported.
“We are pleased to announce on behalf of Partiet Sentrum that in alliance with somebody with the right to nominate, have nominated [Imran] Khan the former prime minister of Pakistan to the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with human rights and democracy in Pakistan,” the party said on X.
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature.
The prize aims to recognise and encourage efforts towards peace, international cooperation, and the reduction of conflict.
Every year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee receives hundreds of nominations, after which they select the winner through a lengthy eight-month process.
The nomination period for this year’s prize concluded on January 31, and the committee registered 338 candidates for the 2025 Peace Prize, of which 244 are individuals and 94 are organisations.
However, the committee does not disclose the names of the nominators or nominees for the prize.
The party refrained from disclosing the identity of the intermediary who facilitated the nomination, adding to the growing controversy. However, former PTI leader Shabaz Gill also took to X to announce Khan’s Nobel nomination.
“Nobel For Khan! Thank you to the Centre Party, Norway @partiet_sentrum Geir Lippestad for keeping his promise from our Oslo meeting to support former PM [Imran] Khan’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Grateful to him, Miss Samina T and party officials for their efforts,” Gill wrote on X, along with two videos featuring his meeting with Geir Lippestad, the leader of Partiet Sentrum and the Khan’s nomination announcement.
Norwegian party faces backlash for nominating Imran Khan for Nobel Peace Prize
The jailed founder of the PTI lost power following a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail since September 2023, owing to his legal woes comprising around 100 cases.
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