President Zardari has approved 355 individuals for national recognition across science, the arts, sports, public service and gallantry.
Pakistan has announced the recipients of its Civil Awards for 2026, one of the most extensive lists of national honorees in recent years. The awards recognize men and women whose work and sacrifice have contributed to the country across a wide range of fields.
President Asif Ali Zardari has approved 355 individuals for the Pakistan Civil Awards 2026. According to The News, the honorees were drawn from science, engineering, education, medicine, arts, literature, sports, journalism, social welfare, philanthropy, public service, gallantry and services to Pakistan. The awards will be formally conferred at a later ceremony.
The list spans the full range of the state’s civil honors, from the highest award, Nishan-i-Imtiaz, through Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Sitara-i-Imtiaz and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, along with the gallantry awards and the honors reserved for foreign nationals who have served Pakistan.
Sports and the Arts Among the Civil Awards Recipients
The sports category includes several of the nation’s most accomplished athletes. Olympic shooter Kishmala Talat has been recommended for the Pride of Performance. Talat is the first Pakistani woman to qualify for Olympic shooting, having competed at the Paris 2024 Games, and she earned Pakistan’s first shooting medal at the Asian Games with a bronze in Hangzhou in 2023.
She is joined by squash player Noor Zaman, boxer Muhammad Waseem, wrestler Bashir Bhola and former cricketer Sadiq Muhammad, all recommended for the Pride of Performance. Senior boxing coach Atta Mohammad Kakar and martial arts and yoga pioneer Dr Waseem A. Tai have been proposed for Sitara-i-Imtiaz in recognition of long service to their disciplines.
The arts category honors figures who have shaped Pakistani cultural life over many decades. Veteran actor Balqees Bano, widely known as Nisho Begum, comedian Iftikhar Ahmed Thakur and respected Naat Khawan Syed Fasihuddin Soharwardhy are among those recommended for Sitara-i-Imtiaz, alongside numerous singers, painters, musicians and traditional artisans.
Literature, Science and Public Service Recognized
In literature, the fiction writer, playwright and poet Asad Muhammad Khan has been recommended for the country’s highest civil award, the Nishan-i-Imtiaz. Poets Ejaz Rahim and Muhammad Khurshidul Hasan Rizvi have been proposed for Hilal-i-Imtiaz, while novelist Hashim Nadeem and the late poet Muhsin Naqvi, Syed Ghulam Abbas, feature among the Sitara-i-Imtiaz recommendations.
The sciences and education are also represented. Dr Shahid Mahmud, chairman of the Interactive Group of Companies, has been recommended for Hilal-i-Imtiaz, as has Lt Gen (Retd) Moazzam Ejaz, rector of NUTECH. Fifteen leading medical and healthcare professionals have been recognized for their services to medicine, several of them posthumously.
Journalism is represented by senior names including Muhammad Saleh Zaafir and Haji Nawaz Raza, both recommended for Sitara-i-Imtiaz, along with reporters and news anchors proposed for Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
A significant portion of the list is devoted to gallantry. Dozens of personnel from the Federal Constabulary, the police and the Intelligence Bureau have been recommended for the Sitara-i-Shujaat and Tamgha-i-Shujaat, many of them posthumously, in recognition of bravery and sacrifice in the line of duty.
Foreign Dignitaries Honored for Services to Pakistan
The awards extend to foreign nationals who have supported the country. Under Services to Pakistan, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak of the United Arab Emirates has been recommended for the Nishan-i-Pakistan, among the highest honors the state can confer on a foreign national.
Other international figures appear on the list, including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and senior Saudi, Russian, Japanese and Chinese personalities recommended for various classes of the Hilal-i-Pakistan, Sitara-i-Pakistan and related honors. Overseas Pakistanis based in the UAE, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere have also been recognized for their contributions to the country.
The 2026 Civil Awards reflect the breadth of service the state seeks to honor, from achievement in sport, science and the arts to acts of courage recognized after the loss of those who performed them. The recipients will receive their awards at the official investiture ceremony.
