Hilal-e-Pakistan () is the second-highest civil award (in the hierarchy of "Hilale") of the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The award seeks to recognize those people who have made "meritorious contribution to the

national interest The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions – be they economic, military, cultural, or otherwise – taken to be the aim of its government. Etymology The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni de ...

s of Pakistan, or

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

contribution, or other significant public or private endeavors". The award is not limited to Pakistani citizens. While it is a civilian award, it can also be conferred upon

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. It is bestowed by 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.

once a year on the eve of

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 ...

History

Hilal-e-Pakistan and other civil awards came into existence following the declaration of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 23 March 1956. However, civil awards including Hilal-e-Pakistan were established on March 19, 1957 under the article 259(2) 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Hilal-e-Pakistan, the second-highest civil award was possibly first conferred upon Chief justice of

Dhaka high court The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh (), popularly known as High Court, is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate Division. It consists of the Chief Justice of Bangla ...

Amin Ahmed Amin Ahmed NPk, MBE (; 1 October 1899 – 5 December 1991) was a jurist and chief justice of the Dacca High Court during the Pakistan era. Early life and education Amin Ahmed was born on 1 October 1899 in the village of Ahmadpur in Son ...

Policy

President of Pakistan confers civil awards under the Article 259(2) of the constitution-1973 and decorations Article-1975 in recognition of meritorious contribution and selfless devotion.

Previous versions of the Hilal-e-Pakistan (State of Pakistan)

File:Hilal-e-Pakistan Neck Medal (1957-75).png, Neck Medal for the 1957-75 version of Hilal-e-Pakistan

Notable recipients

Controversies

President

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

was accused in 2011 for conferring 185 civil awards including the Hilal-e-Pakistan, to its federal

Cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

s and foreigners. Pakistan

News media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...

in 2011, covered reports stating that its former prime minister

Zulfiqar 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 ...

including

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

were restricted during their tenure from bestowing the civil awards to associates.

References