Malala, Musharraf appeal for posthumous Nobel prize

Pakistanis say if there is any person more deserving of this award, it is Edhi

Two iconic figures representing Pakistan abroad, Malala Yousafzai and Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, have joined a growing chorus for posthumously awarding Abdul Sattar Edhi with the Nobel Prize for his humanitarian work.

Most Pakistanis concur that if there is any person more deserving of this prestigious award, it is Edhi.





Abdul Sattar Edhi was the ‘most deserving person’ for the award of Nobel Peace Prize, Pakistani Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai said in January this year. Malala said that she had nominated Edhi for the Nobel Prize for 2016 because she believed he was the “most deserving person for this award.”

Malala Yousafzai told a media outlet on Saturday that the state should take over the Edhi Foundation. She said that no award for late Abdul Sattar Edhi would justify his humanitarian contributions.

“Abdul Sattar Edhi’s services and sacrifices are unparalleled. He has been serving humanity irrespective of class, creed or gender,” she had told reporters in Birmingham.



Amplifying people’s demand for bestowing post-humous Nobel prize to the legendary humanitarian and social worker, former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf insisted that Abdul Sattar Edhi deserved Nobel Peace Prize during his life. According to him, Edhi deserved Nobel Prize more than Mother Teresa. The former president said that the philanthropist’s death was a great loss to Pakistan.

According to Nobelprize.org, official website for Nobel Prize, since 1974, statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Before 1974, the Nobel Prize was only awarded posthumously twice: to Dag Hammerskjold (Nobel Peace Prize 1961) and Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Nobel Prize for Literature in 1931).

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2016.