Civil awards and decorations of Pakistan are awards and decorations which are bestowed by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

for acts of accomplishment benefiting the nation as a whole. It was established after the

constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ; ISO 15919, ISO: '' Āīn-ē-Pākistān''), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outlin ...

was passed in 1973. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

, August 14, and their investiture takes place on the following

Pakistan Day Pakistan Day (, lit. ''Yaum-e-Pakistan'') is a national holiday in Pakistan primarily commemorating the adoption of the first Constitution of Pakistan during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 23 ...

, March 23. According to Article 259 of the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ; ISO 15919, ISO: '' Āīn-ē-Pākistān''), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outlin ...

1973, along with the

Decorations Act, 1975 Decorations Act 1975 is a Law of Pakistan, law enacted in April 1975 by the Parliament of Pakistan. It allows the Government of Pakistan, government, in particular the President of Pakistan, president to confer, withdraw, postpone or announce Civi ...

, the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

confers civil awards on Pakistani citizens in recognition of gallantry. Awards for

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

are conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

and

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

Background

Civil awards were incorporated into the

following recommendation from then-Prime Minister

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

. Although Bhutto asserted that public service was a patriotic duty that did not require accolades and remarked that awards were unnecessary. But his administration nonetheless led to the inclusion of Article 259, titled "AWARDS," during the constitutional drafting process. This article stipulates that citizens may only accept titles, honours, or decorations from foreign states with federal government approval and restricts the conferral of such recognitions by federal or provincial authorities, except that the President is authorized to award decorations for gallantry, academic distinction, or achievements in sports and nursing as provided by federal law. Additionally, the article annuls all titles, honors, and decorations awarded by any authority in Pakistan before the law's commencement, unless awarded in recognition of gallantry or academic distinction.

Selection process

In December, the

ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

and their divisions are invited to recommend candidates to the Cabinet Division. Received nominations are considered by three awards committees after which final proposal is sent to the President for approval. After the President's approval, the announcements are made on

and investiture takes place on

. The President of Pakistan can confer awards to

foreign national A foreign national is any person (including an organization) who is not a national of a specific country. ("The term 'person' means an individual or an organization.") For example, in the United States and in its territories, a foreign nationa ...

s any time during the year. For such awards, proposals are made by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, and approved by the President prior to conferral.

Politicisation

The civil awards have been subject to criticism for its politicised nature since the 1977 Pakistani military coup, with observers noting that awards are frequently granted or withheld based on political considerations. From 2008 to 2013, the

Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a centre-left political position, it is cu ...

(PPP) was criticized for predominantly distributing civil awards to its ardent supporters. This issue resurfaced in 2024 when Senator

Mushahid Ullah Khan Mushahid Ullah Khan (Urdu:) (30 November 1952 – 18 February 2021) was a Pakistani politician who served as Minister for Climate Change, in Abbasi cabinet from August 2017 to May 2018. A leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), Khan had been a ...

raised concerns about the nomination and selection processes for these awards. Following his objections, a parliamentary panel expressed dismay at the lack of merit and transparency in awarding civil honors to individuals for their achievements in literature, arts, sports, medicine, or science.

List of civil awards

The Civil Awards comprise four

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

, each with four descending classes: ''Nishan'' (Order (Grand Cross); ), ''Hilal'' (Crescent (Grand Officer); ), ''Sitara'' (Star (Commander); ) and ''Tamgha'' (Medal; ). * Only awarded to foreign nationals.
Number in parentheses indicates

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of importance applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. For individuals, it is most often used for diplomats in attendance at very formal occasions. It can also be used in the context of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Civil Decorations Of Pakistan Civil awards and decorations of Pakistan Pakistan and the Commonwealth of Nations