KARACHI:
National Award is generally conferred on a citizen who has rendered services to his nation beyond the call of duty, or has been involved in a socio-economic activity with a massive impact on society, or has carried out a daring act of bravery to save the lives of others. One such person was a schoolboy, Aitzaz Hassan Bangash, who gave his life to save 2,000 students from a terrorist attack.
It is only in exceptional cases that foreigners, including dual nationals living abroad, have been given the National Award over their services for Pakistan. One such person who recently received the award was Javed Anwar, a Pakistani American millionaire based in Texas. Anwar – one of the leading contributors to the fund raised for the re-election of Donald Trump – openly campaigned against Joe Biden and was a vocal supporter of Trump despite the latter’s notorious reputation. I am surprised as to why our foreign mission in Washington did not bring this fact to the notice of the government in Islamabad. The award will quite likely irritate those within President Biden’s inner quarters. Furthermore, I fail to pin down any extraordinary service the man has done for our country.
National Award nominees must be scrutinised carefully, especially in case of potential foreign recipients actively involved in American politics.
Malik Tariq Ali
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2021.
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