HYDERABAD: Pakis-tan’s first national flag maker Master Altaf Hussain was conferred with posthumous pride of performance award by President Dr Arif Alvi on the eve of Pakistan Day on Thursday.

The award was received by late Hussain’s elder son Zahoorul Hassan, a retired employee of Pakistan Teleco-mmunication Company Limited. The award was handed over to him by Sindh Governor at Governor House Karachi.

Zahoor has campaigned long and hard to get his father’s services recognized at state level. He had held uncountable press conferences and produced documentary evidence before media persons as well as relevant authorities proving that it was his father, Altaf Hussain, who had stitched the first national flag on the directives of the Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, in the wake of an identical claim by one of his own relatives.

Zahoor’s efforts eventually bore fruits and his father’s services were recognized at the official level. He shared a letter with media, mentioning conferment of the award and posthumous medal he had received on Thursday.

Zahoor had claimed at a press conference last year that Altaf Hussain stitched the first Pakistani national flag under instructions of Quaid-i-Azam and his picture had appeared in Life magazine’s Aug 18, 1947, edition as well.

He disclosed that Barrister Mohammad Sameen Khan was witness to the photo as he accompanied the US journalist Margaret White who took his father’s picture. An Indian woman, who had stitched the first national flag, was conferred with awards by her government, he said.

He said that Hyderabad divisional commissioner had sent a report to cabinet division on Feb 24, 2016, after conducting inquiries and also wrote personal letters to presidents and prime ministers but in vain.

He said that correspondence also took place for some time between cabinet division for the conferment of civil award. His father’s services should be included in syllabus and made part of Pakistan Movement because his contribution was valuable as far as history of Pakistan was concerned, he said.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2023