ISLAMABAD: The country’s military and civilian leadership, as well as martyrs of the Marka-i-Haq engagement with India, were conferred with national awards on Thursday, as part of celebrations to mark Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day.
President Asif Ali Zardari awarded the honours to federal ministers, civil servants, armed forces personnel, journalists and other civilians, in recognition of their contributions during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos in May of this year.
The special investiture ceremony, held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr, saw President Zardari beaming with paternal pride as he pinned a Nishan-i-Imtiaz on his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
The award was conferred on him in recognition of his successful diplomatic engagement with Western capitals to present Pakistan’s stance following the Indian aggression.
13 martyrs honoured; services chiefs, cabinet members and govt officials among recipients
Other recipients of the Nishan-i-Imtiaz included on Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Planning Minister Ahsan lqbal, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, and, the PM’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah.
According to APP, the president conferred the Hilal-i-Juraat (Crescent of Courage) on Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sindhu.
The Hilal-i-Imtiaz was conferred on SAPM on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik, Senator Sherry Rehman, Hina Rabbani Khar, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Faisal Sabzwari, Bushra Anjum, ambassadors Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Intelligence Bureau chief Fuad Asadullah Khan, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, PM’s adviser Dr Tauqir Hussain Shah, retired Lt. Gen Muhammad Saeed and Umar Farooq.
The Sitara-i-lmtiaz was awarded to PTA Chairman retired Maj Gen Hafeez-ur-Rehman, Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, Interior Secretary Khurram Agha, Punjab Home Secretary Noorul Amin Mengal, AJ&K Chief Secretary Khushal Khan, Information Technology Secretary Zarrar Hasham Khan, Information Secretary Ambreen Jan, Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza, and Indus Water Commissioner Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah.
Among others, the Tamgha-i-lmtiaz was presented to members of PM Shehbaz Sharif’s staff and journalists.
These included, International Affairs expert Ahmed Hassan Arabi, defence and security analyst Dr. Qamar Cheema, Principal Information Officer Mubashir Hassan, PSO to PM Muhammad Anas Iqbal, JS to PM Salman Sharif, Joint Secretary to PM Maliha Shahid, Speech Writer to PM Arshad Mahmood Malik, ARY News’ Waseem Badami and Aneeqa Nisar, Geo News’ Hamid Mir and Saleem Safi, Hum News’ Mansoor Ali Khan, Express TV‘s Javed Chaudhry and Amir Ilyas Rana, *Dunya News’* Mujeebur Rehman Shami, Samaa TV’s Talat Hussain, as well as Muneeb Farooq, Naseem Zehra, Badar Shehbaz, and Nadeem Malik.
Although journalist Ansar Abbasi was also supposed to be honoured, he reportedly refused the award.
Military awards
The president also granted awards to the officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force for their courage and sacrifice during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
Awards were also conferred to personnel martyred during Marka-i-Haq by PM Shehbaz. Those personnel awarded the Tamgha-i-Basalat posthumously included Squadron Leader Usman Yousaf, Havaldar Muhammad Naveed, Naik Waqar Khalid and Lance Naik Dilawar Khan.
Recipients of the Tamgha-i-Jurat included Naik Abdul Rehman, Lance Naik Ikramullah and Sepoy Adeel Akbar.
Those who were awarded Imtiazi Asnad included Senior Technician Najeeb Sultan, Chief Technician Muhammad Aurangzeb, Corporal Technician Farooq and Senior Technician Mubashir.
Meanwhile, Sepy Nisar Ali was conferred the Sitara-i-Basalat.
The sole recipient of the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military) was Lt Cmdr Khurram Riaz of the Pakistan Navy.
Meanwhile, Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Operations Vice Admiral Raja Rab Nawaz, Deputy Chief of Air Staff Operations Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed and Director General Military Intelligence Maj Gen Wajid Aziz were among those awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (military).
Civil awards
Late on Thursday night, the Press Information Department also released the list of those nominated for civil awards, which will be conferred on March 23, 2026, on the occasion of Pakistan Day.
The list includes over 260 names, including luminaries from the fields of science, education, literature, medicine, arts, sports, journalism, social welfare, philanthropy, public service and services to Pakistan.
While the list included many familiar faces, this year saw the inclusion of several scientists in the field of AI and robotics, climate change and the Internet of Things.
Some notable names this year include singers Hadiqa Kiyani and Humera Arshad, actors Irfan Ali Khoosat and Samina Peerzada, writers Zahra Nigah, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Mustansar Hussain Tarar, mountaineer Shehroze Kashif (Hilal-i-Imtiaz), karate player Shahzaib Rind, and cricketers Sana Mir and Shahid Afridi.
Notable among posthumous recipients were Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan (Hilal-i-Imtiaz), Taj Haider (Sitara-i-Imtiaz) and Germany Olympian Laura Dahlmeier.
With input from APP. Detailed list on Dawn.com
Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2025