President Announces National Awards For 104 Pakistanis and Foreigners

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari announced the conferment of Pakistan’s national awards on 104 individuals and foreigners in recognition of their exceptional contributions and sacrifices. The awards were revealed on Pakistan’s 78th Independence Day and will be presented at an investiture ceremony on March 23, 2025.

The President awarded the Nishan-i-Pakistan to former President and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed for his distinguished public service. The Hilal-i-Imtiaz was given to Olympian Arshad Nadeem, who won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz was awarded to mountaineer Murad Sadpara for his achievements in sports.

Posthumously, the Nishan-i-Imtiaz was conferred upon the late Nasir Kazmi for his contributions to literature, while the Hilal-i-Pakistan was awarded to Saudi Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud for his services to Pakistan.

In the field of science, the President awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz to Amir Hafeez Ibrahim, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz to Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali and Sardar Muhammad Aftab Ahmed Khan, and the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz to Dr. Sara Qureshi, Dr. Rafiuddin, and Professor Dr. Usman Qamar.

For education, Sadia Rasheed received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Dr. Suleman Shahabuddin and Syed Azhar Hussain Abidi were honored with the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, and Barkat Shah, Abdul Rasheed Kakar, and Aneeqa Bano were awarded the Presidential Pride of Performance.

In medicine, the President conferred the Hilal-i-Imtiaz on Dr. Shahryar and Dr. Zaryab Setna, while Tamgha-i-Imtiaz was awarded to Dr. Akifullah Khan, Dr. Syed Abid Mehdi Kazmi, and Ikramullah Khan.

The arts saw Collin David receive the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, and Arshad Aziz Malik, Bakhtiar Ahmed, and Barrister Zafarullah were awarded the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz. Fariha Pervaiz, Hamid Rana, Shiba Arshad, and Naveed Ahmed Bhatti were honored with the Pride of Performance Award.

For literature, Javed Jabbar received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Salman Awan, Zafar Waqar Taj, and Muniza Shamsi were awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, and Syed Jawad Hussain Jafari received the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz. Ambreen Haseeb was honored with the Pride of Performance Award.

In sports, Maqsood Ahmed, Amad Shakeel Butt, Rehman Ishtiaq, and Mir Nadir Khan Magsi were awarded the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, while Amir Ishfaq received the Presidential Pride of Performance Award.

Additionally, Mian Aziz Ahmed, Hunaid Lakhani, Sana Hashwani, and Safinaz Munir were honored with the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, and Khwaja Anver Majeed and Hussain Dawood received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.

Taxpayers and exporters recognized with Sitara-i-Imtiaz included Syed Imran Ali Shah, Nazimuddin Feroz, Imtiaz Hussain, Adnan Niaz, Zahid Ahmed Ghareeb, and Syed Asad Hussain Zaidi.

The President also announced the Sitara-i-Shujaat for Panjgur Deputy Commissioner Zakir Hussain Baloch, who was martyred in a terror attack in Mastung, and Hilal-i-Imtiaz for Capt. (Retd) Muhammad Khurram Agha, Dr. Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, and Umar Farooq.

In public service, Dr. Rubaba Khan Buledi, Dr. Hamid Attiq Sarwar, Waqasuddin Syed, Jameel Ahmed, Ayaz Khan, Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir, and Irfan Nawaz Memon were awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz, while Tamgha-i-Imtiaz was conferred upon Syed Shakeel Shah, Ashhad Jawad, Rubab Sikandar, Muhammad Yousuf Khan, Cardinal Joseph Coutts, Rehan Mehtab Chawla, Rear Admiral Tanvir, and Amir Mahmood Lakhani.

For gallantry, the President posthumously awarded the Hilal-i-Shujaat to 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. Malik Sabz Ali Shaheed and Captain (Retd) Hamza Anjum received the Sitara-i-Shujaat, and Tamgha-i-Shujaat was awarded to Malik Mahmood Jan Shaheed, Saeed Khan, Samiullah Shaheed, Sahib Khan, and Dr. Shafi Muhammad Bazenjo. For their services to Pakistan, foreign recipients included 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; Sitara-i-Quaid-e-Azam for Haydar Qurbonov and Dr. Christine Schmotzer. Additionally, the Tamgha-i-Pakistan was awarded to 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.