On Pakistan Day (March 23), President Dr Arif Alvi conferred Pakistan's civil awards on 135 individuals, including Pakistani and foreign nationals, in recognition of their excellence and gallantry in their respective fields.
The awards were conferred in an investiture ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad, which was attended by cabinet members, diplomats, and family members of the awardees.
The awards were distributed in ten categories, which include Nishan-i-Imtiaz, Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Quaid–Azam, Sitara-i-Shujaat, Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Presidential Award for Pride of Performance, Tamgha-i-Shujaata, and Tamgha-i-Khidmat. Below is the list of the award recipients in each category:
Nishan-i-Imtiaz:
- Sartaj Aziz
- Mir Hasil Bazinjo
- Justice (Retd) Rana Bhagwandas
- Ahmed Ali Chagla (art)
- Sufi Ghulam Tabassum (poetry)
- Muhammad Qavi Khan (drama, film)
- Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan (sports)
Hilal-i-Pakistan:
- Ambassador (retd) Robin Lynn Raphel
Hilal-i-Imtiaz:
- Khawaja Abdul Hayee (education)
- Engineer Professor Ahmed Farooq Bazai (academic)
- Dr Talat Naseer Pasha (science)
- Hakeem Rizwan Hafeez (health)
- Dr Raja Ali Raza (engineering)
- Raees Ahmed (arts)
- Amjad Islam Amjad (arts)
- Arif Nizami, Mujibur Rehman Shami and Altaf Hassan Qureshi (journalism)
- Bilquees Bano Edhi (social services)
- Muhammad Ramzan Chhipa, Sardar Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera, Maroof Afzal (late), Senator Talha Mahmood, Capt (retd) Sher Alam Mehsud, Justice (retd) Fazal Karim, Sultan Ali Alana, and Hilalur Rehman (public service)
- Dr Gohar Ejaz (philanthropy)
- Khawaja Masood Akhtar (sports exports)
Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam:
- Dr James M Shera
Sitara-i-Shujaat:
- Malik Muhammad Hassan
- Malik Gangrai (late)
- Malik Shumali Khan
- Fiza Tariq Malik (late)
- Raja Mustafa Ali
- Muhammad Afzal Sheikh
- Sajid Kiani (Gallantry)
- Mansoor Ahmed Khan (services to Pakistan)
Sitara-i-Imtiaz:
- Muhammad Afzal Javed and Zafarulah Khan (services to Pakistan)
- Dr Saeed Akhtar (medicine)
- Humayun Khan (late) (agriculture)
- Dr Sharif Malik (medicine)
- Mahfoozur Rehman (education)
- Fakhar-e-Alam (hosting)
- Saghar Siddiqui (late) (poetry)
- Shama Khalid (late) (art)
- Ziauddin (late), Javed Chaudhry, and Nadeem Malik (journalism)
- Dr Anees Ahmed and Maulana Hanif Jalandhari (religious scholar)
- Waqar Ahmed Malik (public service)
- Syed Murataz Mahmood (public service)
- Imdadullah Bosal (public service)
Lt Gen (retd) Sadiq Ali, Amanullah Yasinzai (education), Brigadier (retd) Ijaz Ahmed Shah, Rao Nazim Ali (public service), Dr Yasir Khan Niazi (medicine), Ahmed Shah (journalism), and Nadeem Ahmed (literature).
Tamgha-i-Khidmat
Tamgha-i-Khidmat was conferred on Naseer Ahmad Bhutta (public service), Muhammad Saleem Akhtar (health), Umar Farooq (education), Muhammad Iqbal (public service), Saeed Ahmad (education), and Zafarullah Khan (public service).
Babar Azam Receives Sitara-e-Imtiaz Award and Maintains Top Position in ODI Batting Rankings
On the occasion of Pakistan Day (March 23), Babar Azam, the 28-year-old cricket star and captain of the Pakistan team, was conferred with the prestigious civil award Sitara-e-Imtiaz for his outstanding achievements in sports.
The investiture ceremony was held at the Governor House, where Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman presented the award to him. Babar Azam expressed his gratitude on Twitter, stating that it was an immense honor to receive the award in the presence of his parents and fans, and that it was for the people of Pakistan.
In other news, Babar Azam maintained his top position in the ODI batting rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday, following his impressive performances as captain and batsman for Peshawar Zalmi in the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
