Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instead found himself at the center of an embarrassing digital blunder—one that raises serious questions about who is really calling the shots.

Just hours before President Donald Trump announced a temporary halt to potential U.S. military action against Iran, Sharif took to social media with what was supposed to be a carefully crafted diplomatic appeal. The request? A two-week extension to allow negotiations to continue.

Trump later confirmed the move, stating:

“Based on conversations with [Pakistan] Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”

Trump had previously warned that failure to reach a deal could mean devastating consequences, declaring that “a whole civilization will die” if Iran did not comply by the deadline.

Sharif’s public appeal echoed the urgency, urging restraint and diplomacy. He wrote:

“Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future. To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture. We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region.”

But here’s where the story takes a turn from diplomacy to disbelief. Observers quickly noticed something unusual buried in the post’s edit history. The original version didn’t just contain the message—it included a glaring label at the very top:
“Draft – Pakistan’s PM Message on X.”

That revealing line was posted publicly before being hastily scrubbed within seconds. The cleaned-up version followed almost immediately—but not before eagle-eyed users captured the slip.

The implications are hard to ignore. Why would a sitting prime minister publish a message that appears to have been written elsewhere? And more importantly, who authored it? The phrasing itself—referring to Sharif in the third person as “Pakistan’s PM”—only deepens the mystery, suggesting the text may have originated from outside his inner circle, or even beyond his government entirely.

As if that weren’t enough, the post underwent yet another quiet revision moments later. This time, the change involved reshuffling the order of U.S. officials tagged in the message. Initially, Trump and Vice President JD Vance were followed by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. But in the final version, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was elevated above Witkoff—an adjustment that may seem minor, but in diplomatic circles, such details are anything but trivial.