'Terrific man' Shehbaz gets special mention during Trump's UNGA speech

'Terrific man' Shehbaz gets special mention during Trump's UNGA speech.

Key points

• News DeskReutersAFP Published September 22, 2026 Updated September 22, 2026 11: 38pm.
• Tensions between India and Pakistan had flared in April 2025 when a deadly terror attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir was, without evidence, blamed on Islamabad.
• Listing off the countries, he observed "Pakistan and India" as a conflict he settled, alongside Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the Gaza conflict, among others.
• "The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the International Criminal Court, " he remarked.
• The United States is not an ICC member and has never ratified the Rome Statute that established the court.

News DeskReutersAFP Published September 22, 2026 Updated September 22, 2026 11: 38pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday called Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a "terrific man" during his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as he once again mentioned his role in ending the Pakistan-India conflict in May 2025.

During a speech that covered the conflict in Iran, artificial intelligence and criticism of the UN, Trump once again listed conflicts that he had played a role in ending.

"Since I took office, it has been my honour to help settle eight wars, and in so doing, become friendly with the leaders of many of those countries, " Trump remarked. "It was a great honour to do it, " he continued.

As well as the employ of tariffs, he highlighted that he had been able to settle these conflicts via his "great relations".

Listing off the countries, he observed "Pakistan and India" as a conflict he settled, alongside Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the Gaza conflict, among others. He observed that almost all of these countries had written him letters of thanks for his role.

"The prime minister of Pakistan – terrific man – said that Donald Trump was responsible for saving 30 million lives and probably many more than that, " he continued.

Tensions between India and Pakistan had flared in April 2025 when a deadly terror attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir was, without evidence, blamed on Islamabad. It strongly refuted the allegations.

Meanwhile, the two sides traded a series of tit-for-tat blows that concluded in May with the declaration of a ceasefire by Trump. This person has since repeatedly talked concerning his role in ending the military escalation between the two countries.

He has additionally praised Chief of the Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on a number of occasions, calling him a "highly respected general", a "great fighter" and "my favourite". Trump warns he could 'annihilate' Iran without peace accord.

Trump additionally employed his speech to argue that the war with Iran prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warn that he could "annihilate the Islamic Republic" if no accord is reached to end the conflict.

While predicting his administration would strike a peace accord with Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections, Trump called on other nations to join America in isolating Iran economically to force it to the negotiating table.

"I have a major decision to produce. Will a accord be produced with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?" Trump noted.

"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?"

Trump continued: "Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations? But I believe we'll create a agreement right after the election."

Notably, the remarks marked the latest justification Trump has offered for the war with Iran. He has previously cited a range of reasons for the February US-Israeli strikes, including Tehran's nuclear programme, its backing for regional proxy groups and the prospect of regime change. Iran has consistently denied seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

"I believe we'll create a agreement right after the election since it doesn't produce sense for them not to. They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election, " Trump remarked in his speech.

"I call on all nations to help to enforce the complete economic isolation of Iran, " he remarked.

He additionally addressed other topics, noting that a agreement between Russia and Ukraine to end Moscow's invasion was feasible in the near future.

"We're working particularly closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and we will secure that one done. It's going to happen, I think, more rapidly than residents understand. They've had it, " he remarked. Calls for all nations to quit 'rogue institution' ICC.

During his address, the US president additionally called on all nations that are part of the International Criminal Court to quit the body, calling it "out of control".

"I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately, " he continued.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed to dismantle the ICC "brick by brick", describing the court as an "intolerable threat to US sovereignty". The body tries individuals for the world's worst crimes.

Washington has imposed a series of sanctions on ICC authorities, furious at the court's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – a close US ally.

Trump remarked Washington would "never allow US service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show-trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us".

For context, the United States is not an ICC member and has never ratified the Rome Statute that established the court. Israel, Russia and China are additionally not members. Rejects international regulation of AI.

Addressing the General Assembly, Trump firmly rejected calls for international supervision of artificial intelligence, calling them a "globalist scheme" to control the new technology.

He additionally unveiled that the US administration would henceforth apply the term "super intelligence" rather than "artificial intelligence" in its communications, hoping that the world would follow suit.

"It sounds much better" and "it's much more accurate", he continued, musing on whether the rest of the world would adopt the term.

Trump additionally dismissed warnings from AI safety advocates, comparing them to warnings concerning climate change, whose human causes are affirmed by the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community.

"Every major new technology brings challenges, and super intelligence is no exception, " he remarked.

"The very same people who said we'll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming. Are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster."

Ahead of the week of meetings and speeches in New York, leaders of more than 20 countries pressed binding safety measures for advanced artificial intelligence, warning that the technology's development could outpace the ability to control it. AI superpowers China and the US are not signatories.

Trump informed the UN that the "United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control. Artificial intelligence". UN chief Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, pressed the US and China to start a dialogue on the technology's future akin to US-Soviet engagement at the height of the Cold War.

"Governments with the greatest AI capabilities have the greatest responsibilities to humanity, to establish channels for dialogue, transparency, trust and cooperation, " Guterres remarked in his address to the assembly.

"At a pivotal moment during the Cold War, strategic rivals came to recognise the need to manage shared existential risks."

China and the US are at present discussing creating a communication channel for AI worries in anticipation of a Washington summit session between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Both powers confront rising fears that increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems could eventually escape human control, even as they race for technological supremacy.

Taken together, the developments around ' Terrific man' Shehbaz gets special mention during Trump' s UNGA speech point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.