Web Desk: The Government of Pakistan has announced its annual list of civil award recipients as part of the country’s Independence Day celebrations, recognising individuals for outstanding contributions across the arts, literature, sports and other fields.
The recipients will formally receive their honours on March 23, 2027, coinciding with Pakistan Day.
According to the announced list, 372 awards will be conferred in total. Among them, 54 honours have been designated for contributions to the arts, 29 for literature and nine for sports.
Several well-known figures from Pakistan’s television, film and music industries have been included among this year’s recipients.
Actors Sania Saeed, Maria Wasti and Mahmood Aslam are among the prominent names recognised for their contributions to acting. Meanwhile, musicians Shiraz Uppal and Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, popularly known as Xulfi, have also been selected for honours.
Television host and comedian Shafat Ali is another notable recipient, while Sultana Siddiqi has been selected for the Hilal-i-Imtiaz for her contribution to production.
Bilqees Bano, better known as Nisho Begum, and actor Iftikhar Ahmed Thakur are among those named for the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in acting.
The President’s Award for Pride of Performance will recognise a wide range of artists, including Mahmood Aslam, Sarfraz Hussain Ansari, M Ehtesham Warsi, Arshad Hussain, Ghazala Kaifi, Shazma Haleem and Maria Wasti.
Sania Saeed has also been named for the Pride of Performance for acting, alongside singers and musicians such as Rafia Bano, Gulshan Ara Syed, Mushtaq Shifai and Talib Hussain Dard.
The list also recognises traditional and visual arts. Artists receiving honours include Raja Changez Sultan, Bashir Ahmed, Aftab Zafar, Tayyeba Aziz and Muhammad Imran Qureshi.
Traditional crafts have also received recognition, with awards going to individuals associated with Kashmiri embroidery, block printing, Balochi chawat making, khussa making, shoemaking and stone carving.
Music and entertainment figures feature prominently among the recipients.
Xulfi has been selected for the Pride of Performance for his contribution to music, while Shiraz Uppal will receive the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz for singing and music composition.
Shafat Ali has also been named for the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz for hosting. Meanwhile, Muhammad Noor Ul Hassan Malik has been selected in the same category for acting and anchoring.
The honours list also highlights Pakistan’s literary community, with awards spanning poetry, fiction, playwriting, history, translation, cultural studies and research.
Asad Muhammad Khan has been selected for the Nishan-i-Imtiaz for playwriting and poetry.
Ejaz Rahim and Muhammad Khurshid Ul Hasan Rizvi have been named for the Hilal-i-Imtiaz for their contributions to poetry.
Among the recipients of the Sitara-i-Imtiaz are short-story writer Muhammad Shakeel Adilzada, Iqbal scholar Prof Brigadier (retd) Waheed Uz Zaman Tariq, poet Maqsood Hussain Jafri, writer Muhammad Hafeez Khan and playwright and novelist Hashim Nadeem.
The list also includes Syed Ghulam Abbas, better known as Muhsin Naqvi, for poetry, along with Prof Dr Muhammad Saleem Mazhar for his writings on Sufism, historiography and culture.
Several other writers and poets have been selected for the President’s Award for Pride of Performance and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
Pakistan’s sporting community has also earned recognition in the civil honours list.
Boxing coach Atta Mohammad Kakar and yoga practitioner Dr Waseem A Tai have been selected for the Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
The President’s Award for Pride of Performance will recognise wrestler Bashir Bhola, shooter Kishmala Talat, squash player Noor Zaman, ramp-jump athlete Sultan Muhammad Golden, boxer Muhammad Waseem and cricketer Sadiq Muhammad.
Athlete Faiqa Riaz has been selected for the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
The annual civil honours recognise Pakistanis and others for distinguished contributions in a broad range of fields.
The recipients announced this year will receive their respective awards at ceremonies held on March 23, 2027, as Pakistan observes its national day.
The inclusion of prominent actors, musicians, writers, athletes and traditional artists highlights the government’s recognition of contributions extending beyond public service and into Pakistan’s cultural, literary and sporting landscape.
