Two doctors of Mumbai's Parsi community to receive Nishan-e-Imtiaz for keeping secret Jinnah's illness

Two doctors of Mumbai's Parsi community to receive Nishan-e-Imtiaz for keeping secret Jinnah's illness Elaborating on the importance of their act, Mr.

Key points

• Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal disclosed this in a post on X after the nominations for the civilian and military honours were confirmed on August 14.
• It was incurable at the time, and he died a year after the Partition that resulted in the creation of Pakistan.
• Plenty of historians regard this as one of the most consequential secrets of the twentieth century.
• Iqbal didn't reveal the names of the doctors or who on their part would receive the awards.
• He is considered as the father of the nation and revered for his struggle to argue the case for Pakistan.

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 confirmed 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 remarked.

"Plenty of historians regard this as one of the most consequential secrets of the twentieth century. Lord Mountbatten afterwards 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 stated.

"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 created the creation of Pakistan feasible, " he stated.

Mr. Iqbal didn't reveal the names of the doctors or who on their part would receive the awards.

For context, the national civil and military awards of Pakistan are traditionally confirmed on Independence Day (August 14) and are formally conferred at a presidential investiture ceremony on the after Pakistan Day (March 23).

Jinnah was suffering from tuberculosis. It was incurable at the time, and he died a year after the Partition that resulted in the creation of Pakistan.

He is considered as the father of the nation and revered for his struggle to argue the case for Pakistan. In 1998, the Pakistan administration honoured Dilip Kumar with the 'Nishan-e-Imtiaz'.

For now, two doctors of Mumbai' s Parsi community to receive Nishan-e-Imtiaz for keeping secret remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.