Nigar Awards, the oldest prestigious awards in Pakistan, are back after a 12-year hiatus. The awards are already making headlines around the country, but not for good reasons. First it was the nominations which received serious backlash from the audiences and now the latest controversy is that the organisers of Nigar Awards have been sued by proprietor of Lush, Osama Qazi on the pretext of violation of contract and betrayal.
According to recent reports, court has issued a stay order to stop the proceedings of Nigar Awards until some issues are resolved. Usama Qazi, has filed an application with the High Court against the Chairman of Nigar Awards, for breaking a ten-year contract with him and joining hands with another party for the ceremony.
However, according to the sources of Instep, it is not true and the contract with the businessman was terminated on December 4, 2016.
“The court hasn’t issued any stay order for the Nigar Awards and it’s just a way of pulling us down,” the source told Instep. “Those who were trying to bring the awards back for the last 2 years but didn’t succeed are doing it since we managed to do what they couldn’t. They are portraying it in such a way so that it causes damage to us; the court hasn’t asked us to delay it.”
The award ceremony is expected to be held on March 16, 2017. However, the source explained that due to the damage caused by rumors against Nigar Awards, there is a possibility that the ceremony maybe postponed. Let’s wait for an official statement from the organizers.
