Ambassador of France to Pakistan, Philippe Thiébaud, conferred the prestigious French award of the "Order of Arts and Letters" (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) on Intizar Hussain, a renowned Pakistani Urdu fiction writer at a local hotel on Saturday. Intizar Hussain, who is recognised as a living-legend in Pakistan, on the occasion, thanked the French government for bestowing this award upon him.
He also highlighted work of different writers, including Manto and Hassan Askari. He said culture takes its roots from quality of work. He also threw light on work of French writers. It may be noted that French Award of the "Order of Arts and Letters" was established by President Charles de Gaulle. Its purpose is the recognition of significant meritorious contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields. The recipients of this award are French nationals as well as the renowned foreign writers, artists, musicians.
Intizar Hussain has received many awards in Pakistan, India and the Middle East, and has also been nominated for the Man Booker International Prize in 2013. "The Seventh Door" and "Leaves" are among his books translated into English. He has translated works from English to Urdu. His writings include "Basti", "Hindustan Se Aakhri Khat", "Agay Samander Hai", "Shehr-e-Afsos", "Jataka Tales", "Janam Kahanian" and "Wo Jo Kho Gaye".