#NobelPeacePrizeForImranKhan trends on Pakistan Twitter, hours before IAF pilot Abhinandan's return

In the hours before the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on Friday, the hashtag #NobelPeacePrizeForImranKhan was trending on Twitter in Pakistan.

On Thursday, in a surprise announcement at a joint session of the Pakistani Parliament, Imran Khan had announced that the country would release the captured IAF pilot, in a move that was lauded as having de-escalated the India-Pakistan conflict and infused the atmosphere of tension with relief.

The gesture of peace led to other hashtags trending in Pakistan, like #PakistanLeadsWithPeace and #GoBackModi.

Many tagged the official account of the Nobel Peace Prize and asked for Imran to be considered, hailing him as the one leader who “actually believes in peace”.

if you really want your NObel Prize Nobel than present to @ImranKhanPTI #NobelPeacePrizeForImranKhan

— Kamran A Khan (@kamransworld) March 1, 2019

The leader who is playing the central role in diffusing regional tensions and promoting peace and stability in such a complicated and tough environment.

No other individual deserves this Prize more, given how more than a billion lives are at stake..#NobelPeacePrizeForImranKhan pic.twitter.com/Je74gcVJID

— Mubbashir Rehman Khan (@RehmanMubbashir) March 1, 2019

#NobelPeacePrizeForImranKhan Ambassador for Peace 💐
Ambassador for humanity
Man of big heart
Man of Kindness pic.twitter.com/zVtKbQuNTW

— Aftab Aslam (@aftab6264) March 1, 2019

This was also an opportunity for sports lovers to remember Imran winning other prizes in his career as Pakistan cricket captain.

Well no one deserves it better then captain @ImranKhanPTI #NobelPeacePrizeForImranKhan pic.twitter.com/4Mp6Sx2ZiY

— Umair Iftikhar (@Vildvampire) February 28, 2019

Comparisons between Imran and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were also part of the Twitter drive.

Meanwhile, a Change.org petition began doing the rounds to get Imran the award soon. At the time of publishing the report, it had nearly 7,000 signatures.

“We, hereby nominate the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 for his peace efforts and dialogues in the Asian region on diverse conflicts (eg, Pakistan-India, Afghanistan-USA, Middle East, etc). His contributions deserve the international recognition with the award of Nobel Peace Prize in 2020, his aims of ensuring lasting peace in the region and discouraging revival of militarism should be recognised and greatly appreciated,” the petition , by one Waqas Amjad, read.

Follow LIVE updates of the Wing Commander’s return and the situation between India and Pakistan here