Pakistan’s Salman Sufi receives Mother Teresa Award in India

MUMBAI: Former director general of Punjab’s Strategic Reforms Unit, Salman Sufi, who spearheaded various pro-women reform initiatives in the province during PML-N rule, has received the Mother Teresa Award 2018.

The Public Policy and Development Specialist, who was denotified as SMU member in July this year, had been named along with Nobel laureate Nadia Murad Basee.

Mr Sufi took to Twitter to announce the honour on Sunday.

“Honored to accept the #MotherTeresaAwards today in #Mumbai- Dedicate this award to countless survivors of violence who deserve our support. Let’s wage a war on Violence against Women together- #Pakistan #India #Bangladesh #SriLanka #Saarc,” Mr Sufi tweeted.

After his nomination for the prestigious award earlier this month, Sufi thanked former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif for backing his projects aimed at empowering women.

"The projects I initiated to help empower Women of Pakistan were not possible without the political support provided by @CMShehbaz and civil society that stood by us. The fight for equality is far from over. Let’s keep the momentum going," he wrote.

In December last year, Sufi was added to list of top 5 men from around the world who worked to end violence against Women.

He won prestigious Voices of Solidarity Award 2017, presented by the Vital Voices Global Partnership, an organisation working under the chairmanship of Hillary Clinton.

The list of men Sufi joined includes prominent personalities such as former US Vice President Joe Biden, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and some others.