The draft of a post by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announcing his extension request to President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deadline with Iran has been revealed online.
Pakistan has been involved as an intermediary between the U.S., Israel, and Iran in the lead-up to Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline.
Sharif posted on Tuesday before Trump’s Truth Social confirmation of the ceasefire.
“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks,” Sharif’s statement read. “Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture.”
Online speculation surrounding the statement soon spiked after Sharif’s message seemed to suggest he had a little help with the wording of the post, which tagged U.S. figures including Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others.
“*Draft - Pakistan’s PM Message on X*,” the post began.
The post was subsequently edited and the top line removed. The timing of Sharif’s updated X post was also pointed out by Forbes.
Reporter Ryan Grim of independent news account Drop Site suggested that Sharif “originally copied and pasted everything he was sent,” pointing out that Sharif’s staff would not refer to him as “Pakistan’s PM.”
The Daily Beast has approached the White House and the Pakistan Prime Minister’s office for comment.
Social media users were quick to speculate about who might have been responsible for sending the “draft” to the Pakistani prime minister.
“It sure looks like the White House wrote this for Pakistan’s PM, who posted it then quickly deleted the top part,” one account said.
Another shared a theory behind the post. “Looks like Trump wants to TACO but doesn’t want to look like he initiated it. So he drafted this message for Pakistan’s PM to deliver…but somebody left the ‘Draft - Pakistan’s PM Message on X’ in.“
A separate theory on X aligned with the concept that Sharif “copy pasted” a post he didn’t draft, “but was sent to him by a foreigner - likely Trump’s team.”
Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday at 6:32 p.m. “I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.” In his post, Trump claimed his decision to back down on his threats followed conversations with Sharif and Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Sharif issued a second statement about the ceasefire after Trump’s announcement, with different wording.
“With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY,” it said.
Sharif said he warmly welcomed the “sagacious gesture” and invited delegations from the U.S. and Iran to Islamabad on Friday to “further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.”
Once again, Trump, Vance, Rubio and Witkoff were all tagged.
The Pakistani Prime Minister said he hoped “to share more good news in coming days.”
