ISLAMABAD: The Independence Day of Pakistan was celebrated across the country today with great fervor and enthusiasm.
The main flag hoisting ceremony was held in Islamabad which was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Similar functions were held in the provincial capitals of Sindh Punjab Balochistan and Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
Speakers on the occasion highlighted the significance of the day and paid tribute to the founders of the country.
In Karachi thousands of people visited the mausoleum of Quad-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and offered fatiha for his soul and paid tribute for his leading role in the creation of Pakistan.
The day started with 31 gun salute in Islamabad and 21 gun salute at provincial headquarters. Special prayers were offered in mosques for peace, solidarity and prosperity of country.
The main national flag hosting ceremony of the day was held at Pakistan Monument in Islamabad. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif hoisted the national flag.
Change of Guards ceremony was held at Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi.
At the flag hoisting ceremony in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif that he was going to present economic revival plan and will also announce reduction in the electricity bills.
NATIONAL AWARDS
President Asif Ali Zardari announced national awards for different personalities for their contribution in different fields. These awards will be given ob March 23 next year, according to the state media.
Former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed will be conferred upon Nishan-e-Pakistan for its marvellous contribution to the field of public service. In sports, Arshad Nadeem will get Hilal-e-Imtiaz and Murad Sadpara Sitara-e-Imtiaz, while Nasir Kazmi will be awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz posthumously in the realm of literature.
Hilal-e-Pakistan will be conferred upon Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman Al-Saud in recognition of his services to Pakistan.
In the field of Science and Technology, Amir Hafeez Ibrahim will be awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali and Sardar Muhammad Aftab Ahmed Khan Watto Sitar-e-Imtiaz, while Dr Sara Qureshi, Dr Rafiuddin and Professor Dr Usman Qamar will be given Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
Sadia Rasheed will be honoured with Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Zia-ul-Haq, Dr Sulaiman Shahabuddin and Syed Azhar Hussain Abidi Sitara-e-Imtiaz, while Barkat Shah, Abdul Rasheed Kakar and Aniqa Bano will be given President’s Award for Pride of Performance in the field of education.
In the health sector, Hilal-e-Imtiaz will be conferred upon Professor Dr Shehryar and Dr Zaryab Setna, while Dr Akifullah Khan, Dr Syed Abid Mehdi Kazmi and Ikramullah Khan will be awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
In the field of arts, Colin David will be awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz, while Arshad Aziz Malik, Bakhtiyar Ahmed and Barrister Zafarullah will be given Tamgha-e-Imtiaz. Fareeha Pervaiz, Hamid Rana, Shiba Arshad and Naveed Bhatti will get President’s Award for Pride of Performance.
Javed Jabbar will be awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Salman Awan, Zafar Waqar Taj and Muneeza Shamsi Sitara-e-Imtiaz in the field of literature. Syed Jawad Hussain Jaffery Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and Ambreen Haseeb will be given President’s Award for Pride of Performance.
Besides, Maqsood Ahmed, Emad Shakeel Butt, Rehman Ishtiaq and Mir Nadir Khan Magsi will be awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and Amir Ashfaq President’s Award for Pride of Performance in the field of sports.
In social and public service, Mian Aziz Ahmed, Hunaid Lakhani, Sana Hashwani and Safinaz Munir will be given Sitar-e-Imtiaz, while Khawaja Anwar Majeed and Hussain Dawood will be awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz.
In the category of taxpayers and exporters, Sitara-e-Imtiaz will be conferred upon Syed Imran Ali Shah, Nazimuddin Feroz, Imtiaz Hussain, Adnan Niaz, Zahid Ahmed, and Syed Asad Hussain Zaidi.
Deputy Commissioner Panjgur Zakir Hussain Baloch will be awarded Sitara-e-Shujaat, while Captain retired Muhammad Khurram Agha, Dr Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah and Umar Farooq will be given Hilal-e-Imtiaz.
Dr Rubaba Khan Buledi, Dr Hamid Atique Sarwar, Waqassuddin Syed, Jamil Ahmed, Ayaz Khan, Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir, and Irfan Nawaz Memon will be awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz.
Syed Shakeel Shah, Ashhad Jawad, Rubab Sikandar, Muhammad Yousaf Khan, Cardinal Joseph Coutts, Rehman Mehtab Chawla, Rear Admiral Tanvir and Amir Mehmood Lakhani will be conferred Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
Hilal-e-Shujaat posthumously will be awarded to martyred Sup-Inspector Taimur Shehzad, Sepoy Muhammad Asif, SP Muhammad Ijaz Khan, DSP Sardar Hussain, DSP Allama Iqbal, LHC Muhammad Farooq, Additional SHO Adnan Afridi, Allah Rakhio Nandwani, Constables Jahanzeb and Irshad Ali.
Malik Sabz Ali Shaheed and Captain retired Hamza Anjum will be conferred with Sitara-e-Shujaat, while Malik Mehmood Jan Shaheed, Saeed Khan, Samiullah Khan Shaheed, Sahib Khan and Dr Shafi Muhammad Bizinjo will be given Tamgha-e-Shujaat.
The President also approved to confer Hilal-i-Quaid-e-Azam on Fu Zhiheng and Mohammad Saif Al Suwaidi, Sitara-i-Pakistan on Majid bin Abdullah Al Kassabi and Engineer Abdullah Al-Swaha, while Sitara-i-Quaid-e-Azam on Haydar Qurbonov and Dr. Christine Schmotzer.
Tamgha-i-Pakistan wil be awarded to Mountaineer Lukas Woerle, Dr. Aurore Dither, Prof. Valeria Fiorani Piacentini and Agostino Da Polenza, Tamgha-i-Quaid-e-Azam will be conferred on Zhang Baozhong and Xinmiin Liu while
Diana McArthur will be conferred upon Tamgha-i-Khidmat.
Comments are closed.