Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), and the nation's Interior Minister, will be awarded the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Excellence Gold Medal. The award is being given for what organizers say is his "principled and courageous stand" during the trophy handover controversy surrounding the recent Asia Cup final.
As reported by The Nation, Advocate Ghulam Abbas Jamal, President of the Sindh and Karachi Basketball Associations, announced the award, saying that Naqvi’s conduct had “restored national pride” during a time of heightened political and sporting tensions between India and Pakistan.
Naqvi emerged at the centre of international headlines after the post-match ceremony of the Asia Cup final, where Indian players refused to accept the trophy from him — an action generally perceived as a political gesture. Naqvi countered by keeping the trophy and then tweeting that the Indian team was "welcome" to have it back from the ACC headquarters "if they really want it.
“I did nothing wrong, and I did not — and will not — apologise to the BCCI,” Naqvi asserted on X (formerly Twitter), responding to reports that India’s cricket board had taken offence at the incident.
His defiant reaction has elicited universal acclaim in Pakistan's political and sporting fraternity. Awarding him one of the country's highest civilian honors has been interpreted both as a symbolic gesture of defiance and a declaration of sovereignty.
Arrangements are in place to conduct the formal award ceremony in Karachi, with PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to preside over it as chief guest. The date of the event would be decided once Bhutto is confirmed to be available.
There is a special committee created to organize the ceremony with Sindh Basketball Association Chairman Khalid Jameel Shamsi as its head and Director Sports and Commissioner Karachi Ghulam Muhammad Khan as secretary.
This is not about cricket," Ghulam Abbas Jamal said. "This is about dignity, sovereignty, and standing firm in the face of pressure."
The Asia Cup had thickly political overtones, with India adhering to a strict policy of 'no handshake' with Pakistani players. The affair reached a climax when India emerged victorious in the final but declined to accept the trophy from Naqvi.
After the incident, the BCCI brought the matter to the notice of the ACC's annual meeting and intends to take it to the International Cricket Council (ICC) in its next month of November.
The incident occurred amidst mounting diplomatic tensions between the two nations, especially after the Pahalgam terror attack, which resulted in the deaths of 26 Indian tourists. India held Pakistan-based militants responsible for the attack and initiated Operation Sindoor, a cross-border military action against suspected militant camps.
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