Pakistan to honour two Indian doctors: What is Nishan-e-Imtiaz?

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Photograph of Jinnah with Gandhi in 1944. | Photo Credit: British Library’s Digital Collection via Wikimedia Commons

Pakistan will confer its highest civilian award , the Nishan-e-Imtiaz , upon two Indian doctors who had kept the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s terminal illness a secret in 1946. This was a year before Partition, which saw a mass exodus of people from both sides of the border and the division of colonial India, famously along the ‘Radcliffe Line,’ which affected the erstwhile provinces of Punjab and Bengal.

In a statement on social media on Pakistan’s Independence Day, August 14, Minister Ahsan Iqbal announced that a radiologist and a physician were pivotal in keeping the secret of Jinnah’s frail health. The Minister went on to say that Lord Mountbatten (last Viceroy of India) had 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 jeopardizing the creation of Pakistan.”

“By maintaining absolute professional confidentiality at such a critical moment, these doctors performed a quiet but extraordinary service. Their fidelity to their professional oath inadvertently became a significant contribution to the circumstances that made the creation of Pakistan possible,” the statement added. The names of the doctors, belonging to Mumbai’s Parsi community, were not included in the statement released by Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

Jinnah died in September 1948, thirteen months after the formation of Pakistan. He was suffering from tuberculosis which was incurable at the time.

‘Nishan-e-Imtiaz’ or the ‘Order of Excellence’ is Pakistan’s highest civilian honour and is the first category award of the Order of Imtiaz, given for achievements towards global recognition of the country or for outstanding service to the nation.

Other categories of awards in Pakistan are the ‘hilal,’ ‘sitara’ , and ‘tamgha’ with specific guidelines for bestowing the honour on civilians, military personnel, and sometimes foreigners.

Pakistan has conferred the award on 52 people, of whom 14 have been foreign nationals. Indian actor Dilip Kumar was bestowed with the award in 1998 in the field of fine arts.

Other notable foreigners include Switzerland’s Aga Khan IV, former Queen of Nepal, Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah, and Indonesian general Rudini, among others. In 2025, USA’s Michael Kurilla was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military), recognising his role in defence.

The national civil and military awards of Pakistan are traditionally announced on its Independence Day (August 14) and are formally conferred at a presidential investiture ceremony on the following Pakistan Day (March 23).

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