ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday conferred 58 military and 73 civil awards on people from all walks of life for their services to the country.
The awards were given on the occasion of Pakistan Day in a ceremony held at the President House.
Among the notable recipients of the Nishan-e-Imtiaz were Dr Adeeb ul Hassan Rizvi and Tahir Jahangir – husband of (late) Asma Jahangir.
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed became the youngest Pakistani cricketer to receive the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the third highest civil award of Pakistan. Former captain Younis Khan was also awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz earlier today.
Former Cuban President Dr Fidel Castro was also honoured with Nishan-e-Pakistan for rendering unwavering services to Pakistan.
Nine people were awarded with Hilal-e-Imtiaz, including Muhammad Anwar Habib, Aslam Hayat, Tariq Mahmud, Dr. Anjum Tauqir, Hussain Dawood, Mian Muhammad Abdullah, and Muhammad Ali Tabba.
Whereas, the coveted Sitara-e-Pakistan award was conferred on Kimihide Ando of Japan, Haris Silajdzic of Bosnia, Dr Song Jong-hwan of Korea, and Sadiq Khan for their services to Pakistan.
The Sitara-e-Shujaat award was presented to eight individuals for showing excellence in the military and sacrificing their lives to fight terrorism. The recipients include Abdul Ghani (Late), Saif-ur-Rehman Shaheed, Captain (retd) Syed Ahmad Mobin Zaidi Shaheed, Zahid Mehmood Gondal Shaheed, Muhammad Ashraf Noor Shaheed, Hamid Shakeel Sabir Shaheed, Maulana Hassan Jan Shaheed, and Dr Mufti Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi Shaheed.
Sitara-e-Imtiaz was conferred on 22 individuals. The recipients include Professor Dr Zabta Khan Shinwari (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for Science (Biotechnology), Zia Chishti (USA) for IT, Ashar Aziz (USA) for IT, Syed Zia Hasnain Shah (Sindh) for Science (Chemistry), Dr Mohammad Zahid (Punjab) for Science (Physics), Waqar Murtaza Butt (Sindh) for Engineering (Nuclear), Syed Yusuf Raza (Islamabad) for Engineering (Nuclear Power), Muhammad Khalid Akbar (Islamabad) for Electronics, Instrument and Control; Rana Abdul Qayyum (Punjab) for Engineering (Mechanical), Ayaz Aziz (Punjab) for Engineering (Aerospace), Amjad Fareed Sabri (Late) (Sindh) for Art (Qawali), Ameena Saiyid for Literature, Muhammad Hanif for Literature, Mohsin Hamid for Literature, Misbah-ul-Haq (Punjab) for Sports (Cricket), Younis Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for Sports (Cricket), Sarfraz Ahmed (Sindh) for Sports (Cricket), Shahid Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for Sports(Cricket), Makhdum Ali Chishti (UK) for Services to Pakistan; Ambassador (retd) Jamshed G. Kharas (late) (Sindh) for Services to Pakistan, Junaid Jamshed Khan (late) (Sindh) as a religious scholar, Justice (retd) Saiduzzaman Siddiqui (late) (Sindh) for Public Service, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch (Balochistan) for Public Service, Ms Ayesha Raza Senator (Punjab) for Public Service, Ms Saira Afzal Tarar for Public Service, and Zahid Bashir for Public Service (Social Service).
A total of 44 individuals including some from the media industry were awarded the President’s Award for Pride of Performance for excellence. The recipients include Hanif Khalid (Jang), Tahir Khalil (Jang), Amin Hafeez (Geo News), and Nawaz Raza (Nawa-e-Waqt). Others include Professor Dr Bashir Ahmad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for Science (Biotechnology), Professor Dr Asifullah Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for Science (Computer), Professor Dr Sarmad Hussain (Punjab) for Science (Computer), Dr Abdul Samad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for Science (Archaeology), Dr Captain (retd) Rahim Bux Bhatti (Sindh) for Medicine, Dr Mohammad Faheem (Islamabad) for Medicine, Art (Singing), Maryam Khatoon (Durdana Baloch) (Balochistan) for Art (Acting Drama & Radio), Qudsia Azmat Nisar (Punjab) for Art (Painting), Syed Murtaza Shah (Dadahi) (Sindh) for Literature (Poetry), Shakeel Adilzada (Sindh) for Literature, Hanif Khalid (Punjab), Najia Rasool (Punjab) for Sports (Taekwondo), Brigadior (retd) Javed Ahmed Satti for Services to Pakistan, and Riffat Rehana (Late) (Punjab) for Public Service.
The ceremony was attended by ministers, parliamentarians, services chiefs, diplomats, high civil and military officials, and people belonging to different walks of life.
Published in Daily Times, March 24th 2018.