Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif mocked after copy-pasting Iran ceasefire post on X; fuels scripted text claims

The issue gained spotlight online after journalists and commentators drew attention to the wording of the draft. Ryan Grim of Drop Site remarked that the message was “likely not written by Sharif,” pointing out that his own staff would not refer to him as “Pakistan’s PM.”

A fresh controversy has erupted over Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's social media post, urging US President Donald Trump to delay military action against Iran, after users flagged what appeared to be a drafting error suggesting external authorship.

The controversy revolves around Sharif’s post on X, in which he called for a two-week extension to give diplomacy a chance in the West Asia conflict. Soon after it was published, users began sharing screenshots of its edit history, revealing that it initially carried the line: “Draft - Pakistan’s PM Message on X.”

According to a report by The Daily Beast, the draft label appears to have been mistakenly included in the original post before being removed in a later edit.

The outlet added that the incident “exposes” the Pakistani prime minister appeared to “cut and paste” the message, sparking speculation over who actually authored it.

The issue gained spotlight online after journalists and commentators drew attention to the wording of the draft. Ryan Grim of Drop Site remarked that the message was “likely not written by Sharif,” pointing out that his own staff would not refer to him as “Pakistan’s PM.”

Social media users also noted that the post tagged several senior US officials, including Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, further fuelling speculation about possible coordination.

As per the report of Forbes, the message witnessed "extra scrutiny" after "an early draft of his plea appeared written by an entity outside of Pakistan.”

The controversy comes at a very delicate time, as Donald Trump cited Shehbaz Sharif’s appeal as part of his rationale for pausing planned strikes on Iran for two weeks.

“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif… I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump said in a social media post earlier.

Meanwhile, Sharif’s final version of the post urged that diplomacy be allowed to “run its course,” called on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a “goodwill gesture,” along with appealing for a ceasefire to “achieve conclusive termination of war.”

The Daily Beast reported that Sharif later posted a revised statement with the draft reference removed, while his office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Online speculation quickly intensified, with some users suggesting the wording may have given from US officials, while others cautioned it could simply be a clerical or staff error.

The timing has just amplified the controversy, as the post came just hours before  Trump’s deadline for Iran to reach a deal, and when Pakistan positioned itself as a mediator in the crisis. 

With inputs from agency...