President Zardari confers civil awards on Pakistani and foreign personalities

ISLAMABAD: Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday conferred civil awards on various Pakistani and foreign personalities in recognition of their outstanding contributions in different fields, including health, education, literature, journalism, public service, research, diplomacy, sports and the economy.

The investiture ceremony was held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr and was attended by First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, federal ministers, the Senate chairman, parliamentarians, diplomats, members of civil society, media representatives and a large number of guests.

The late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan and Irfan-ul-Haq Siddiqui were awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz posthumously in recognition of their services to the country.

Among other notable recipients, Attaul Haq Qasmi received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, while former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi was conferred with the Hilal-e-Imtiaz.

Other recipients of the Hilal-e-Imtiaz included Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, Muhammad Ali, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Moazzam Jah Ansari, Engineer Jamaluddin Ahmed, Mirza Rizwan Baig, Muhammad Yousuf Khan, Dr Ameer Muhammad, Professor Dr Ikram ul Haq, Zahra Majid Ali and mountaineer Shehroz Kashif.

The late Taj Haider was awarded the Sitara-e-Pakistan posthumously.

Several police officials, military personnel and civilians who lost their lives in the line of duty were honoured posthumously with Sitara-e-Shujaat and Hilal-e-Shujaat awards in recognition of their bravery and sacrifices.

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The Sitara-e-Imtiaz was conferred on several personalities, including Interior Secretary Captain (retd) Muhammad Agha, Dr Muhammad Fakhar-e-Alam, Nabeel Munir, Lt (retd) Sohail Ashraf, Hamza Tabani, artist Hamra Abbas and others for their services in different sectors.

Meanwhile, Rashid Waheed Khawaja and Zahid Ahmed received the Pride of Performance award.

Muhammad Saeed Sheikh was awarded Sitara-e-Khidmat, while Shahid Hussain received the Tamgha-e-Shujaat award.

The Tamgha-i-Imtiaz was awarded to several individuals, including Ghulam Nabi Memon, Nadir Shafee Dar, Dr Muhammad Shahbaz Chaudhry, Nadia Jehangir Seth and others for their contributions in public service, health, administration, education and business sectors.