18:50
Muhammad Ali Jinnah/File image
Two doctors -- a physician and a radiologist -- of Mumbai's Parsi community will receive Pakistan's highest civilian award -- Nishan-e-Imtiaz -- for keeping secret Muhammad Ali Jinnah's terminal illness, according to a federal minister.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal disclosed this in a post on X after the nominations for the civilian and military honours were announced on August 14.
"I feel honoured to have had the privilege, as Chairman of the Awards Committee, of nominating for the Nishan-e-Imtiaz two remarkable doctors, a physician and a radiologist, both members of Bombay's Parsi community, who faithfully guarded the secret of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's terminal illness," he said.
Elaborating on the importance of their act, Iqbal said that any revelation about the frail health of Jinnah could have impacted the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
"Many historians regard this as one of the most consequential secrets of the twentieth century. Lord Mountbatten later acknowledged that, had he known how seriously ill Jinnah was, he might have delayed Partition -- potentially altering the course of history and perhaps even jeopardising the creation of Pakistan," he said. -- PTI
