President Zardari Honors 104 Pakistanis and Foreigners with National Awards on Independence Day
— August 14, 2024
ISLAMABAD (AIA) President Asif Ali Zardari announced the conferment of Pakistan’s national awards to 104 Pakistanis and foreigners in recognition of their services, excellence, and sacrifices in their respective fields.
The awards were announced on Pakistan’s 78th Independence Day and will be presented to the awardees at an investiture ceremony on March 23, 2025.
The president conferred awards to individuals in the fields of science and engineering, education, medicine, arts, literature, sports, social services and philanthropy, entrepreneurs, taxpayers and exporters, public services, gallantry, and services to Pakistan.
He conferred Nishan-i-Pakistan on former president and prime minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in recognition of his public services.
The Hilal-i-Imtiaz was awarded to Arshad Nadeem, who recently won a gold medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics, and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz to mountaineer Murad Sadpara in the sports category.
In recognition of their excellence in the fields of science, the president conferred Hilal-i-Imtiaz on Amir Hafeez Ibrahim, Sitara-i-Imtiaz on Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali, and Sardar Muhammad Aftab Ahmed Khan. Dr. Sara Qureshi, Dr. Rafiuddin, and Professor Dr. Usman Qamar were betowed with Tamgha-i Imtiaz.
In the education field, Sadia Rasheed was bestowed with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz. The Sitara-i-Imtiaz was announced for Dr. Suleman Shahabuddin and Syed Azhar Hussain Abidi, and the Presidential Pride of Performance award for Barkat Shah, Abdul Rasheed Kakar, and Aneeqa Bano.
The president announced Hilal-i-Imtiaz for Dr. Shahryar and Dr. Zaryab Setna and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz for Dr. Akifullah Khan, Dr. Syed Abid Mehdi Kazmi, and Ikramullah Khan for their contributions to the field of medicine.
In the field of arts, Collin David was bestowed with Sitara-i-Imtiaz, while Arshad Aziz Malik, Bakhtiar Ahmed, and Barrister Zafarullah were awarded with Tamgha-i-Imtiaz. Fariha Pervaiz, Hamid Rana, Shiba Arshad, and Naveed Ahmed Bhatti were awarded the Pride of Performance Award.
For their contribution to the field of literature, President Zardari conferred Hilal-i-Imtiaz on Javed Jabbar; Sitara-i-Imtiaz on Salman Awan, Zafar Waqar Taj, and Muniza Shamsi; Tamgha-i-Imtiaz on Syed Jawad Hussain Jafari; and the Pride of Performance Award on Ambreen Haseeb. Nasir Kazmi was awarded the Nishan-i-Imtiaz posthumously.
Maqsood Ahemd, Amad Shakeel Butt, Rehman Ishtiaq, and Mir Nadir Khan Magsi were bestowed with Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, while Amir Ishfaq was awarded the Presidential Pride of Performance Award for their excellence in the sports field.
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz was conferred on Mian Aziz Ahmed, Hunaid Lakhani, Sana Hashwani, and Safinaz Munir. The Hilal-i-Imtiaz was awarded to Khwaja Anver Majeed and Hussain Dawood.
The recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz in the taxpayers and exporters category included Syed Imran Ali Shah, Nazimuddin Feroz, Imtiaz Hussain, Adnan Niaz, Zahid Ahmed Ghareeb, and Syed Asad Hussain Zaidi.
Panjgur Deputy Commissioner Zakir Hussain Baloch, who was recently martyred in a terror attack in Mastung, was conferred with Sitara-i-Shujaat. Meanwhile, Capt. (Retd) Muhammad Khurram Agha, Dr. Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, and Umar Farooq were bestowed with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.
In the public service field, Dr. Rubaba Khan Buledi, Dr. Hamid Attiq Sarwar, Waqasuddin Syed, Jameel Ahmed, Ayaz Khan, Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir, and Irfan Nawaz Memon were conferred with Sitara-i-Imtiaz. Tamgha-i-Imtiaz was announced for Syed Shakeel Shah, Ashhad Jawad, Rubab Sikandar, Muhammad Yousuf Khan, Cardinal Joseph Coutts, Rehan Mehtab Chawla, Rear Admiral Tanvir, and Amir Mahmood Lakhani.
Zardari conferred Hilal-i-Shujaat posthumously on Sub Inspector Taimur Shehzad Shaheed, Sepoy Muhammad Asif Shaheed, SP Muhammad Aijaz Khan, DSP Sardar Hussain Shaheed, DSP Allama Iqbal Shaheed, LHC Muhammad Farooq Shaheed, Additional SHO Adnan Afridi Shaheed, Allah Rakhio Nandwani, Constable Jahanzeb, and Constable Irshad Ali Shaheed in recognition of their gallantry.
Malik Sabz Ali Shaheed and Captain (Retd) Hamza Anjum were conferred Sitara-i-Shujaat, and Tamgha-i-Shujaat was announced for Malik Mahmood Jan Shaheed, Saeed Khan, Samiullah Shaheed, Sahib Khan, and Dr. Shafi Muhammad Bazenjo.
For their services to Pakistan, President Zardari conferred national awards for foreigners, including Hilal-i-Pakistan for Saudi Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman al Saud; Hilal-i-Quaid-e-Azam for Fu Zhiheng and Mohammad Saif Al Suwaidi; Sitara-i-Pakistan for Majid bin Abdullah Al Kassabi and Engineer Abdullah Al-Swaha; and Sitara-i-Quaid-e-Azam for Haydar Qurbonov and Dr. Christine Schmotzer.
The president also conferred Tamgha-i-Pakistan on Mountaineer Lukas Woerle, Dr. Aurore Dither, Prof. Valeria Fiorani Piacentini, and Agostino Da Polenza; Tamgha-i-Quaid-e-Azam for Zhang Baozhong and Xinmiin Liu; and Tamgha-i-Khidmat for Diana McArthur.