ISLAMABAD : President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the conferment of civil awards upon 355 Pakistani and foreign personalities for their exceptional services across diverse fields, according to an official announcement on Saturday. The investiture ceremony will be held on Pakistan Day, March 23, 2026.
The list features a rich blend of entertainment icons, sports champions, political figures, civil servants, journalists, and foreign dignitaries. In the arts, singers Tarnum Naz and Nasho Begum will receive the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, while actresses Ghazala Kaifi, Sania Saeed, Maria Wasti, and singer Zohaib Hassan are awarded the Tamgha-e-Hasan. Singer Shiraz Upal will be conferred the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
In sports, shooter Kashmala Talat and former Test cricketer Sadiq Muhammad will both receive the Tamgha-e-Hasan.
High-ranking government officials dominate the top-tier awards. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Federal Ministers Ahad Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, and Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani will all be decorated with the Nishan-e-Imtiaz. Engineer Amir Muqam, Federal Minister for Public Service, will receive the Hilal-e-Imtiaz.
The Sitara-e-Imtiaz will be awarded to DGIB Fawad Asadullah, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial, Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal, and Commerce Secretary Jawad Pal. Allama Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, Chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, will receive the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
For extraordinary bravery, Zubia Khurshid Raja from Azad Kashmir will be awarded the Tamgha-e-Shujaat for risking her life to rescue an injured policeman from miscreants. Additionally, 46 law enforcement agency martyrs, including Group Captain Asim Tariq Shaheed, will be posthumously awarded the Sitara-e-Shujaat.
In the health and administrative sectors, DRAP CEO Dr. Obaidullah will receive the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, while Punjab Shatra DG Babar Sahib Din gets the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz. Senior journalists Saleh Zafer and Haji Nawaz Raza will be awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, with Ammar Masood, Maria Zulfiqar, Adil Shahzeb, and Hammad Hassan receiving the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
Posthumous honours include the Nishan-e-Quaid-e-Azam for Quaid-e-Azam’s physicians, Dr. Jal Ratanji Patel and Dr. Jal Dybo.
On the diplomatic front, Saudi Prince Saud bin Nayef will be awarded the Hilal-e-Pakistan, while Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasir Guler, and Commerce Minister Umar Bolat will each receive the Sitara-e-Pakistan. Dr. Khalid Abbas Al-Asadi and Dr. Paul Jacob Bhatti will be conferred the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
