ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has approved 355 national civil awards and 1,172 military awards for personnel of the Armed Forces and Civil Armed Forces as part of the Independence Day honours.
The president also approved a special remission of sentences for prisoners who meet the eligibility criteria, on the recommendation of the prime minister.
The civil awards have been given to people from a wide range of fields, including science and technology, education, medicine, literature, arts, sports, journalism, social welfare and public service. Several foreign nationals have also been recognised for their services to Pakistan.
The names of the civil award recipients were approved on August 14 and announced as part of the Independence Day honours. The awards will be presented at investiture ceremonies on Pakistan Day, March 23, 2027.
Among the highest honours, Nishan-i-Pakistan has been awarded to Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation of the UAE.
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The Nishan-i-Quaid-i-Azam, posthumously, has been awarded to Dr Jal Rattanji Patel and Dr Jal Daeboo, who served as physicians to Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The Hilal-i-Pakistan has gone to a number of prominent foreign figures, including Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri and Deemah Al Yahya of Saudi Arabia. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Logvinovich Overchuk and Japan’s Hiroji Kataoka are also among the recipients.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Yasar Gular and Omer Bolat, along with Spanish Senator Vicente Azpitarte, have been awarded the Sitara-i-Pakistan.
The Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam has been conferred on Chinese figures Yang Baoning, Master Yuan Xikun and Prof Zhou Yushu, as well as Antonio Gutierrez Limones of Spain, Pascal Allizard of France and Malaysia’s Dr Maszlee bin Malik.
Nishan-i-Imtiaz
Fiction writer, playwright and poet Asad Muhammad Khan is among the recipients of the Nishan-i-Imtiaz.
The award has also been given for public service to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister Ahad Khan Cheema and Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani.
Muslim scholar Muhammad Asad has received the honour posthumously.
Hilal-i-Imtiaz
The Hilal-i-Imtiaz list includes senior government officials, academics, doctors, artists and writers.
Among the recipients are Intelligence Bureau Director General Fuad Asadullah, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal, FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Lagrial and Establishment Secretary Barrister Nabeel A. Awan.
Dr Shahid Mahmud has been recognised for his work in science and technology, while Lt Gen (retd) Moazzam Ejaz has received the award for services to education.
Transplant surgeon Prof Dr Faisal Saud Dar, HUM Network’s Sultana Siddiqi, and writers Ejaz Rahim and Muhammad Khurshidul Hasan Rizvi are also among the recipients.
Several Pakistanis living abroad and foreign nationals have also been recognised for their services to Pakistan.
Sitara-i-Imtiaz
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz has been awarded to people working in education, science, medicine, arts, literature, journalism, sports and public service.
The recipients include Prof Dr Syed Zafar Ilyas, Prof Dr Mudassir Asrar, Prof Dr Muhammad Raza Shah, Prof Dr Khalid Masood Gondal, Dr Rashid Amjad and Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir.
In the medical field, the list includes Prof Dr Syed Jamal Raza, Dr Shah Khalid, Prof Dr Muhammad Khurram and DRAP CEO Dr Obaidullah. Prof Dr Tahir Shamsi and Dr Naseem Salahuddin have been recognised posthumously.
Among the better-known names from the arts and media are Nisho Begum, Iftikhar Ahmed Thakur, Abida Ehsan, Hashim Nadeem, Muhammad Saleh Zaafir and Haji Nawaz Raza.
Pride of Performance
A total of 46 people have been selected for the President’s Award for Pride of Performance, with actors, musicians, artists, writers, athletes and journalists making up most of the list.
Actors Mahmood Aslam, Maria Wasti and Sania Saeed are among the recipients, along with musicians including Zohaib Hassan and Rafia Bano.
The award has also gone to visual artists Aftab Zafar and Muhammad Imran Qureshi, writers Dr Shahida Shaheen and Ali Muhammad Farshi, and athletes including Kishmala Talat, Noor Zaman and Muhammad Waseem.
Journalists Syed Hammad Ghaznavi and Muhammad Amir Khan have also been selected for the award.
Tamgha-i-Imtiaz
The Tamgha-i-Imtiaz list covers a broad range of professions, including science, education, medicine, arts, literature, journalism and public service.
Among those receiving the award are Dr Sajjad Hussain, Prof Dr Aneela Zameer Jaffery, Dr Urooj Saeed, Dr Muhammad Sadiq and Prof Dr Naeem-ul-Haq Tariq.
Several teachers, doctors, artists, writers and journalists have also been recognised. Public and social service figures and athlete Faiqa Riaz are among the other recipients.
Gallantry awards
A significant number of awards have gone to personnel from the police, Federal Constabulary and other security and law-enforcement agencies.
The Sitara-i-Shujaat has been awarded to 48 people, including several Federal Constabulary personnel posthumously, as well as police, Intelligence Bureau and other security personnel.
Another 24 people have received the Tamgha-i-Shujaat, while 19 serving officers have been given the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz for gallantry and public service.
The awards recognise personnel who showed courage in the line of duty and those who rendered distinguished services to the country.
