President Dr. Arif Alvi on March 23, 2023, conferred Pakistan civil awards on 135 citizens from various personalities and different walks of life for their meritorious services in different fields. The awards were given away in a special investiture ceremony held at the Presidency on the occasion of Pakistan Day. The ceremony was attended by ministers, parliamentarians, service chiefs, diplomats, high-ranking civil and military officials, and people belonging to different walks of life.
The president distributed the civil awards in 10 categories including Nishan-i-Imtiaz, Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Quaid-Azam, Sitara-i-Shujaat, Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Presidential Award for Pride of Performance, Tamgha-i-Shujaata, and Tamgha-i-Khidmat.
Sitara-i-Imtiaz
Fakhr-e-Alam
Fakhr-e-Alam is a well-known Pakistani actor, TV host, video jockey, and singer. He is famous for introducing the bhangra-rap fusion genre of music in Pakistan. Though he is still considered a pioneer of bhangra-rap music culture in Pakistan, he is now more popular for hosting TV shows, sports broadcasts, and high-profile national and international productions.
Behroze Sabzwari
Behroze Sabzwari is a household name in Pakistan, appearing in films, on television, and in voice acting roles alike. He achieved fame through the PTV play Khuda Ki Basti in 1974 where he played the role of Nausha. He has also done many stage plays, including Mirza Ghalib Bandar Road Par. Sabzwari also received the Pride of Performance on 23 March 2009, for his services to the Pakistani television industry for more than 40 years.
Riaz Shahid
Riaz Shahid was a Pakistani filmmaker, film writer, and journalist. He delivered on to write or direct several films like Zarqa (1969), Shaheed (1962), Farangi (1964), Khamosh Raho (1964), and Yeh Aman. He won several awards for his contribution to Pakistani cinema, including the Nigar Award for Best Director & Best Screenplay. In 2023, he was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz Pakistan`s civil award.
Babar Azam
Babar Azam is a Pakistani international cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in all formats. Azam is regarded as one of the finest batters in contemporary world cricket. He is the only cricketer in the world to be in the top five rankings across all formats. He is ranked as the number one batter in ODIs and number three in Tests and T20Is. He has been awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz ,Pakistan civil award for his sportsmanship.
Tamgha-i-Imtiaz
Bismah Maroof
Bismah Maroof is a Pakistani cricketer who plays as an all-rounder, batting left-handed and bowling right-arm leg break. In June 2022, she became the most runs scorer for the Pakistani women’s cricket team in both ODI and T20I formats (more than 2000 runs in each). She has appeared for Pakistan in over 200 matches, captained the side between 2013 and 2020, and was the first woman to score 1,000 runs in ODIs for Pakistan. On 23 March 2023, Bismah was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s fourth-highest civilian honor.
Nishan-i-Imtiaz
Muhammad Qavi Khan
Late actor Muhammad Qavi Khan, was best known for his police drama serial Andhera Ujala, which launched him to stardom. Some of his other notable works in television include roles in Khaani, Durr-e-Shahwar, and Aangan. He was also a playwright, having written the autobiographical one-man stage play Action and Reaction.
Jahangir Khan
Jahangir Khan is widely regarded as the greatest squash player of all time. The former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player has won the World Open title six times, and the British Open title ten times (1982-1991). He retired as a player in 1993 and served as President of the World Squash Federation from 2002 to 2008, later becoming Emeritus President.
Jansher Khan
Jansher Khan is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player who won the World Open a record eight times, and the British Open six times. Khan ranked number 1 in the world from January 1988 till January 1998, (513 weeks) (118 months) (9.8 Years) Jansher Khan’s retirement in 2001 brought an end to nearly 50 years of domination by Pakistan in the sport of squash.
Hilal-i-Imtiaz
Bilquees Bano Edhi
Bilquees Bano Edhi was one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan. She was the co-chair of the Edhi Foundation, a charity organization that provided many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service in Karachi. For her contributions, she was awarded the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service and the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice in 2015.
Muhammad Ramzan Chhipa
Muhammad Ramzan Chhipa is a Pakistani philanthropist known for his social work in Karachi, Pakistan. He is the founder of Chhipa Welfare Association, an NGO in Pakistan known for its social work and the second largest fleet of ambulances after Edhi Foundation around the country.
Amjad Islam Amjad
Amjad Islam Amjad was a Pakistani Urdu poet, screenwriter, playwright, and lyricist. The author of more than 70 books, he received many awards for his literary work and screenplay for TV, including Pride of Performance and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Awards. Later on, he also received the prestigious Tamgh-e-Imtiaz in 1998.