# Two Mumbai doctors to get Pakistan’s highest civilian award for keeping Jinnah’s illness secret 2026-08-17T17:22:43+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Two Parsi doctors from Mumbai, Dr Jal Ratanji Patel and Dr Jal Dhaybho-Koo, have been nominated for the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian award. The honour recognises their decision to keep confidential the advanced tuberculosis condition of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder, during the politically charged period before Partition. In a post on X, Pakistan's Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal confirmed that the doctors examined Jinnah's X-ray in 1946 and concluded his illness was terminal, giving him roughly a year to live. The assessment was kept from the public for decades. The nomination comes nearly eight decades after the examination, spotlighting a secret that likely influenced Jinnah's push for Pakistan. No official confirmation from the Indian government or the doctors themselves has been reported yet. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both sources agree on the core fact: two Parsi doctors from Mumbai diagnosed Jinnah with terminal tuberculosis in 1946 and kept it secret. India TV frames the story around the doctors' 'Mumbai' and 'Parsi' identity, subtly emphasising their Indianness at the moment of Pakistani recognition. NDTV leads with the Pakistani minister's social-media announcement, giving the story a bilateral, official flavour. Neither outlet questions the retrospective conferral of an award 77 years later or examines whether the secrecy was ethically or politically justified in 1946. The measured reading: this is as much a gesture of Pakistani gratitude as it is a reminder of a suppressed medical truth that shaped Partition timelines. What to watch: whether the Government of India or, community bodies comment on the award. ## Coverage - indiatvnews.com - ndtv.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T10:03:14+00:00. Tags: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Mumbai, Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/two-mumbai-doctors-to-get-pakistans-top-civilian-award-for-jinnah-secret/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/two-mumbai-doctors-to-get-pakistans-top-civilian-award-for-jinnah-secret/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/