Mumbai Parsi doctors to receive Pakistan's highest civilian honour

The two doctors, who belonged to Mumbai's Parsi community, maintained strict confidentiality regarding the health status of Muhammad Ali Jinnah during a critical period in South Asian history. Their decision to keep Jinnah's illness private is being credited with potentially safeguarding the political climate necessary for Pakistan's creation in 1947.

According to officials familiar with the matter, any public disclosure of Jinnah's deteriorating health condition could have significantly undermined confidence in his leadership during the independence movement and subsequent formation of the new nation. The physicians' professional discretion thus held considerable historical consequences for the region.

The Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian decoration, recognises extraordinary merit and service in fields including medicine, literature, the arts, and public service. The award underscores the significance Pakistan places on the role these medical practitioners played during a transformative moment in the subcontinent's history.

The recognition reflects how individual acts of professional responsibility, though often unrecorded at the time, can intersect with pivotal historical events. The honour to these Mumbai-based physicians also represents a cultural acknowledgment of the Parsi community's historical contributions to the region's development.