Sindh Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah was at the Arts Council in Karachi on Wednesday to open the Wes-Dhaari Sindhi Theatre Festival when he told reporters his ministry had nominated superstars Fahad Mustafa and Mahira Khan for the Sitara-i-Imtiaz twice.
Speaking to the media with an entourage that included Mustafa’s father, veteran Sindhi actor Salahuddin Tunio, Shah called the Aag Lagay Basti Mein star an “international superstar” and said Sindh was lucky to have such a son.
“The culture department nominated [Mustafa] twice for the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, him and Mahira Khan. I don’t know why the federal government rejects [such names],” the minister said.
He said the two actors were included in this year’s recommendations, which were sent to Islamabad after scrutiny by a committee including playwright Anwar Maqsood and the province’s chief secretary.
Neither Khan nor Mustafa was on the list of civil award recipients announced on Friday.
