Donald Trump’s intervention into the Iran-Israel war, and brokering then announcing a ceasefire, has drawn a heated debate in Pakistan – where the government had formally nominated the US president for the Nobel peace prize as the US military was making its final preparations for a strike that threatened all-out war in the Middle East.

A statement in the early hours of Saturday local time – shortly before US B-2 bombers left the Whiteman air force base in Missouri and headed to Iran – had credited Trump for a “legacy of pragmatic diplomacy” and “pivotal leadership” for ensuring Pakistan’s ceasefire with India in a conflict that had begun with the killing of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in April.

A day later that same government was condemning Trump for the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities and what it said was a violation of international law, insisting that diplomacy was the only way to resolve the crisis. The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, called the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, to express his concerns over the US strike.

Opposition lawmakers – including members of the party of the former prime minister Imran Khan – activists, authors and former diplomats criticised the government for Trump’s peace prize nomination. A senator from the conservative Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) party submitted a resolution for its withdrawal.

Maleeha Lodhi, the former Pakistani ambassador to the US, posted to social media: “Those who recommended this should show some remorse and apologise to the people of Pakistan.” She later told the Guardian: “Why should Pakistan nominate a man who violated international law by bombing Iran? It is a very ill-conceived move by the government and it should rescind it, it should withdraw it.”

Trump is widely believed to want to win the Nobel peace prize – and has frequently criticised its awarding to his predecessor Barack Obama. Trump has been nominated multiple times, according to the Norwegian Nobel committee rules which permit nominations from members of national assemblies and national governments, university professors in specific fields, and members of certain international institutions.

Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign committee, this week announced he had withdrawn his nomination of Trump for the prize, saying he had “lost any sort of faith and belief” that the US president could make peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump last week posted to his Truth Social platform that he did not believe he would win the prize. “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!” he said.

Pakistani ministers and government lawmakers have defended the nomination. Senator Musadik Malik, who is also a federal minister, said it was Trump who had intervened and played the most crucial role in ensuring a ceasefire between India and Pakistan when both countries were on the brink of a nuclear war.

“We need to recognise his efforts for peace. Trump also put serious efforts into resolving the Russia and Ukraine crisis where billions of dollars were invested in war. He could not succeed but he put serious efforts,” he said.

Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif, said the government stood by its decision, which he said was reinforced by Trump’s push for a truce between Iran and Israel. “I believe there will be no such person in recent history whose peace efforts have stopped major confrontations, one after the other,” he said in an interview with local media.