Journalist and author Mohammad Hanif on Saturday returned his “Sitara e Imtiaz” award in protest against the government’s persecution of Baloch people rallying against the enforced disappearances of their relatives.
Hanif made the announcement in a post shared on social media platform X. “In protest, returning my Sitara e Imtiaz, given to me by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens,” he wrote.
“Journalists of my generation have seen @SammiBaluch and @MahrangBaloch_ grow up in protest camps. Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity,” he added.
In protest, returning my Sitara e Imtiaz, given to me by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens. Journalists of my generation have seen @SammiBaluch and @MahrangBaloch_ grow up in protest camps. Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity. https://t.co/yrw4STuzKk
— Mohammed Hanif (@mohammedhanif) December 23, 2023
In 2018, Hanif—a dramatist, writer, and journalist well known for his widely recognised piece “A Case of Exploding Mangoes”—was granted Pakistan’s third-highest civilian honour.
