The government has announced its annual list of civil awards as part of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations, with prominent figures from the arts, literature and sports among those selected for honours.
The awardees, recognised for their services to the country in various fields, will receive the honours on March 23 next year on the occasion of Pakistan Day.
Of the 372 awards announced, 54 have been allocated for contributions to the arts, 29 for literature and nine for sports.
Among the prominent names in the arts category are actors Sania Saeed, Maria Wasti and Mahmood Aslam, musicians Shiraz Uppal and Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, popularly known as Xulfi, and television host Shafat Ali.
Production executive Sultana Siddiqi has been named for the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz has been awarded to actor Bilqees Bano, popularly known as Nisho Begum, actor Iftikhar Ahmed Thakur, naat khawan Syed Fasih Uddin Soharwardhy, compere Shakir Hussain, singers Taranam Naz and Saira John Peter, art educator Abida Ehsan, painter Raja Changez Sultan, theatre personality Muhammad Naeem Tahir and painter Bashir Ahmed.
The President’s Award for Pride of Performance has been announced for a wide range of artists, including actors Mahmood Aslam, Sarfraz Hussain Ansari, M Ehtesham Warsi, Arshad Hussain, Ghazala Kaifi, Khawaja Saleem Ahmad, Shazma Haleem and Syeda Maria Wasti, as well as actor and director personalities.
Other recipients in the category include classical musicians, singers, painters, sculptors, choreographers and traditional craftsmen. Among them are Ustad Mazhar Umrao Bundu Khan, Rafia Bano, Jahangir Iqbal, Shaukat Hussain Samrat, Aftab Zafar, Tayyeba Aziz, Allah Jurio, Nadeem Salamat, Shahbaz Ali, Sania Saeed, Gulshan Ara Syed, Talib Hussain Dard, Muhammad Imran Qureshi, Zohaib Hassan, Hidayat Ullah Khan, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan and Syed Wahab Hussain Shah.
The Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in the arts category will go to actor and anchor Muhammad Noor Ul Hassan Malik, host Shafat Ali, singer and composer Shiraz Uppal, singer Jabbar Abbas and several artists and traditional craftsmen.
Writer and poet Asad Muhammad Khan has been selected for the Nishan-i-Imtiaz.
Poets Ejaz Rahim and Muhammad Khurshid Ul Hasan Rizvi will receive the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz has been awarded to short-story writer Muhammad Shakeel Adilzada, Iqbal scholar Prof Brigadier (retd) Waheed Uz Zaman Tariq, poet Maqsood Hussain Jafri, naat writer Riaz ul Haq Tahir, writer Muhammad Hafeez Khan, scholar Prof Dr Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, playwright and novelist Hashim Nadeem and poet Syed Ghulam Abbas, also known as Muhsin Naqvi.
The President’s Award for Pride of Performance in literature has been announced for writers and poets including Dr Shahida Shaheen, Ali Muhammad Farshi, Aslam Javed, Rehman Faris, Syed Farid Ullah Shah Hassas, Shafqat Ullah Mushtaq, Nizakat Kalsoom and Syed Wasi Ahmad Fatmi.
The Tamgha-i-Imtiaz will be conferred on writers and literary figures including Farida Hafeez, Agha Gul, Noor Khan Muhammad Hasni, Khalid Fateh Muhammad, Haleem Qureshi, Manzoom Ali, Sherbaz Ali Khan Barcha, Muhammad Siddique G Memon, Prof Dr Haroon-ur-Rasheed Tabassum and Qaiser Abbas Sabir.
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz in sports has been awarded to senior boxing coach Atta Mohammad Kakar and yoga expert Dr Waseem A Tai.
The President’s Award for Pride of Performance will go to wrestler Bashir Bhola, shooter Kishmala Talat, squash player Noor Zaman, ramp-jump athlete Sultan Muhammad Golden, boxer Muhammad Waseem and former cricketer Sadiq Muhammad.
Athlete Faiqa Riaz has been selected for the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
The annual civil awards recognise individuals for distinguished contributions and services in their respective fields.
