DNA
President Asif Ali Zardari has approved civil awards for 355 individuals in recognition of their contributions to a wide range of fields, including science, education, medicine, arts, sports and public service.
The list includes federal ministers, government officials, academics, doctors, journalists, artists, writers, athletes, philanthropists, security personnel, police officers, martyrs and foreign dignitaries, The News reported.
Ministers recommended for Nishan-i-Imtiaz: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Establishment and Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, all of whom have been recommended for Nishan-i-Imtiaz, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi — Tamgha-i-Imtiaz under the public service category.
The list further recommends Intelligence Bureau Director General Fuad Asadullah, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Finance Division Secretary Imdadullah Bosal, FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Lagrial and Establishment Division Secretary Nabeel A. Awan for Hilal-i-Imtiaz.
A large number of other serving and former public servants have also been recommended for Sitara-i-Imtiaz and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, including officials from the finance, revenue, police, administration, commerce, law and other government sectors.
Scientists, engineers and educationists
In the science category, Dr Shahid Mahmud, CEO/Chairman of Interactive Group of Companies, has been recommended for Hilal-i-Imtiaz.
Prof Dr Syed Zafar Ilyas and Prof Dr Mudassir Asrar have been proposed for Sitara-i-Imtiaz, while Dr Sajjad Hussain, Prof Dr Aneela Zameer Jaffery and Dr Urooj Saeed have been recommended for Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
The engineering category includes Dr Muhammad Sadiq, Vice Chancellor of UET Peshawar, and Prof Dr Naeemul Haq Tariq, Principal Engineer/Professor at PIEAS, both recommended for Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
Among educationists, Lt Gen (retd) Moazzam Ejaz, Rector of NUTECH, has been recommended for Hilal-i-Imtiaz. Prof Dr Muhammad Raza Shah, Prof Dr Khalid Masood Gondal, Dr Rashid Amjad and Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir are among those proposed for Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
Several university vice chancellors, researchers, professors and education administrators have also been recommended for Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
Doctors and healthcare professionals: Fifteen leading medical and health professionals, including Prof Dr Syed Jamal Raza and Prof Faisal Saud Dar and the late Prof Dr Tahir Shamsi and the late Dr Naseem Salahuddin, with civil awards for their outstanding services to medicine and healthcare, while DRAP Chief Executive Officer Dr Obaidullah has also been selected for Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
Artists and performers: The arts category features prominent names from film, television, theatre, music, painting and traditional arts.
Actor Balqees Bano, popularly known as Nisho Begum, comedian Iftikhar Ahmed Thakur, and Naat Khawan Syed Fasihuddin Soharwardhy are among those proposed for Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
The recommendations also include a large number of performers and artists proposed for PAPP, while several singers, actors, painters, musicians and traditional artisans have been recommended for Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
Writers and poets: In literature, Asad Muhammad Khan has been recommended for the country’s highest civil award, Nishan-i-Imtiaz, for his contribution as a fiction and play writer and poet.
Poets Ejaz Rahim and Muhammad Khurshidul Hasan Rizvi have been proposed for Hilal-i-Imtiaz. Muhammad Shakeel Adilzada, Prof Brigadier (retd) Waheeduz-Zaman Tariq, Maqsood Hussain Jafri, Riazul Haq Tahir Riaz Majeed, Muhammad Hafeez Khan, Prof Dr Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, Hashim Nadeem and Syed Ghulam Abbas (Muhsin Naqvi) are among those recommended for Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
Journalists also included
The journalism category includes Muhammad Saleh Zaafir and Haji Nawaz Raza, both recommended for Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
Syed Hammad Ghaznavi has been recommended for PAPP, while journalist and photographer Muhammad Amir Khan has also been proposed for PAPP.
Muhammad Riaz Khan, Shoaib Ahmed and M Ammar Masood have been recommended for Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
News anchors Dr Maria Zulfiqar, Adil Shahzaib, Hammad Hassan and Tasawwar Arafat have also been recommended for Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
Sports personalities: The sports category includes senior boxing coach Atta Mohammad Kakar and martial artist and yoga pioneer Dr Waseem A. Tai, both recommended for Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
Wrestler Bashir Bhola, shooter Kishmala Talat, squash player Noor Zaman, boxer Muhammad Waseem and cricketer Sadiq Muhammad are among those proposed for PAPP, while athlete Faiqa Riaz has been recommended for Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
Gallantry awards for security personnel and martyrs
A substantial portion of the recommendations relates to gallantry and public service.
Dozens of personnel of the Federal Constabulary have been recommended posthumously for Sitara-i-Shujaat, including Nazakat Ali, Sepoy Muhammad Usman, Sepoy Mina Badshah, Sepoy Ibrar Ali, Sepoy Noorul Hasan, Sepoy Taza Gul, Lance Naik Muhammad Nazif and several others.
The list continues with police personnel, Intelligence Bureau officials and civilians recommended for Sitara-i-Shujaat. Among the nominees are HC Mumtaz Ahmad, Muhammad Yousaf Reki, Muhammad Afzal, Hidayatullah Bulaidi, Police Constable Muhammad Khumari, SHO Lutuf Ali Khosa and Group Captain Asim Tariq, all listed for posthumous awards.
Senior officers involved in security and law-enforcement operations have also been recommended for Sitara-i-Imtiaz, including IGP Abdul Kareem, DIG Waqas Hassan and DIG Tanveer Hussain Tunio in recognition of their gallantry/public service.
Several personnel have further been proposed for Tamgha-i-Shujaat and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz under gallantry/public service, including police officers and personnel of the Intelligence Bureau and military intelligence.
Foreign nationals recommended for national honours
Under Services to Pakistan (Foreign Nationals), Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak has been recommended for Nishan-i-Pakistan.
The list also proposes Nishan-i-Quaid-i-Azam posthumously for physicians Dr Jal Rattanji Patel and Dr Jal Daeboo physicians of Quaid-i-Azam.
Several Saudi, Turkish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese and other foreign personalities have been recommended for Hilal-i-Pakistan, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Sitara-i-Pakistan and Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam.
Among them are Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Saudi Education Minister Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, Deemah Al Yahya, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Logvinovich Overchuk, Japanese scholar Hiroji Kataoka and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Overseas Pakistanis
The recommendations also recognise overseas Pakistanis for their services to Pakistan.
Muhammad Asad, listed as an Austro-Hungarian Pakistani Muslim, has been recommended posthumously for Nishan-i-Imtiaz, while Dr Ghulam Murtaza, Prof Ahmed Ali and Sardar Muhammad Ilyas Khan have been proposed for Hilal-i-Imtiaz.
Several overseas Pakistanis based in the UAE, Japan, South Korea, the UK, the US, Saudi Arabia, Italy and other countries have been recommended for Sitara-i-Imtiaz and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
