On the occasion of Pakistan’s 75th anniversary, President Arif Alvi conferred civil awards on 253 Pakistani and foreign nationals, out of which 20 Pakistani women have made us extremely proud.
From singers to I.T professionals, sports to social activism, these women deserved to be awarded the Civil Awards for their contribution to their homeland.
The President’s Pride of Performance award was given to Grammy-winning singer Arooj Aftab and Gul Zari for her amazing voice, Parveen aka Sangeeta for film directing, Nargis Shaheen for broadcasting, Anjum Shaheen aka Anjuman for acting, Bushra Farrukh for drama, Taskeen Zafar for anchoring, Shahida for karate and Amina Wali for skiing.
The Tamgha-e-Imtiaz was given to tech icon Jehan Ara, Riffat Shehzad for space sciences, Noor Jahan Bilgrami for visual and textile design, Nigar Nazar for puppetry, Neelam Ahmed Bashir and Khansa Maria for literature, Bisma Maroof for her amazing participation in cricket and Saima Saleem for public service.
The late Bilquis Bano Edhi, the legendary philanthropist and wife of the late Abdus Sattar Edhi was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, while the late Fizza Tariq Malik was awarded the Sitara-e-Shujaat.
Civil Decorations of Pakistan
The Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, August 14, and their investiture takes place on the following Pakistan Day, March 23.
According to Article 259 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 and the Decorations Act of 1975, the President of Pakistan confers civil awards on Pakistani citizens in recognition of gallantry. Awards for Pride of Performance are conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of art, literature, science, sports and nursing.
In December, the ministries and their divisions are invited to recommend candidates to the Cabinet Division. Received nominations are considered by three awards committees after which the final proposal is sent to the President for approval. After the President’s approval, the announcements are made on Independence Day and investiture takes place on Pakistan Day.
The President of Pakistan can confer awards to foreign nationals at any time during the year. For such awards, proposals are made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and approved by the President before conferral.
The Civil Awards comprise 5 orders, each with 4 descending classes: Nishan (Order; Urdu: نشان), Hilal (Crescent; Urdu: ہلال), Sitara (Star; Urdu: ستارہ) and Tamgha (Medal; Urdu: تمغہ).
We congratulate these amazing women for receiving this honour and hope they continue to make this nation super proud.
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