Prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir has announced that he will return the award conferred on his late father by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2013, saying she failed to honour her promise to improve bilateral ties.
Hamid received the award in 2013 conferred on his father Waris Mir for opposing military operation by Pakistan Army in 1971 which led to separation of then East Pakistan to emerge as independent state of Bangladesh.
Hamid, who host a popular talk show Capital Talk on Geo TV, yesterday said that he will return the award given to his father in protest of Hasina's failure to improve ties with Pakistan.
"Instead of improving relations, as promised to us, she has deteriorated them further. With these awards she has deceived us," he said.
"I am left with no choice but to say that I think, along with kind regards, we should all return these symbols of deceit (the awards) back to (PM) Hasina. I, for one, will definitely be doing so," he said.
Mir's announcement coincided with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) calling off a tour of Bangladesh scheduled for July and August.
PCB Chairman Shehryar Khan said this week that Bangladesh had failed to reciprocate visits of Pakistan cricket team.
Dhaka-Islamabad ties began to be strained since 2013 after Pakistan passed a national assembly resolution protesting execution of Jamaat-e-Islami's former Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Mollah over the war crimes charges.
Last year, Bangladesh summoned the Pakistani envoy in Dhaka and handed him a protest note after the two countries 'detained' each other's diplomatic staff for hours over the 1971 war crimes trial.
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