Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has criticized the awarding of a civil honour to journalist Saleh Zafir, questioning the merit and standards being followed in the distribution of state awards.
In a post on X, Fawad Chaudhry sarcastically remarked that if Saleh Zafir had been given an award, “Pinky” could have been given one as well, adding that the Presidency appeared to have become an “Imtiaz Store” for distributing honours.
In another post, the former minister raised concerns over what he described as the lack of recognition for Punjabi language and literature in the civil awards.
He argued that people from various fields had received state honours, while Punjabi literature appeared to have been overlooked. He also urged Punjabi literary circles to raise their voice for greater official recognition and representation for the language and its literary contributions.
