♦ Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin will be conferred Pakistan’s highest civilian award ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan’. Pakistan President Arif Alvi announced this on 23 November 2023. Saifuddin is head of the Mumbai-based Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam. The Dawoodi Bohra community is spread across over 40 countries, including a sizeable congregation in Pakistan.

♦ Nishan-e-Pakistan or the Grand Cross of the Order of Pakistan is equivalent to Nishan-e-Haider, the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan.

♦ He will be the fourth Indian to receive this award. Morarji Desai was the first Indian to be honoured with Nishan-e-Pakistan, which was conferred on him by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990. Later thespian Dilip Kumar was given this award in 1998 and Kashmiri separatist leader Ali Geelani was also awarded Nishan-e-Pakistan in 2020.