Third-highest civilian award of Pakistan
The Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Urdu : ستارہِ امتیاز , lit. 'Star of Excellence') also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz , is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz ")[ 1] honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of Pakistan, world peace, cultural or other significant public endeavours".[ 2]
This award is not limited to the citizens of Pakistan, and it can also be awarded to foreign citizens based on their achievements and services done to the State of Pakistan (see Władysław Turowicz ). While, it is a civilian award, it can also be awarded to military officers of the Pakistan Defence Forces worn on their uniform for recognition of their services to the country. Like other awards, it is a highly restricted and prestigious award only given to those who have done great services to the country. It is one of the most distinguished civil decorations to the civilians who have made outstanding contribution in their respected fields such as literature, arts, sports, medicine, or science, which prompted the recognition of the country on international level.
It is given to a person who has accomplished duty beyond what is assigned to him/her. To receive this honour, the individuals are expected to show eminence and be outstanding in providing excellent service in a significant field of activity beyond what they are assigned to.
For officers in the military, it is given after distinguished service, and is also the highest medal that can be awarded to those at the rank of Brigadier-General or Major-General in the (Army ), Air-Commodores or Air Vice-Marshals in the (Air Force ) and Commodore or Rear-Admiral in the (Navy , Coast Guard , and Marines ).
The Parliament 's Committee for Award and Recognition Services for State of Pakistan, selects the names of individuals and sends final report to the Prime minister of Pakistan . On advice of the Prime minister, the President organizes a colourful ceremony that is telecast and broadcast by the Pakistan Television Corporation . The award is usually given to individuals one by one and not in groups because the whole purpose of the award is to assess the recipient's individual capabilities in par excellence.
The award is a disc of golden Jasminum which stands between two and five points of the star, and is also of pure gold. The star is in the form of a five pointed star, with additional bright coloured Jasminum filling in space between points of the star. In the middle of the star, a well polished green emerald circumference fills the inside of the golden star. A smaller golden star is situated in the middle of the emerald field.
A special grade of the medal/award has larger execution of the same medal design worn as a star on the left chest. In addition, it is worn as a sash on the right shoulder, with its rosette (yellow with white (for civilians) or/ green (for military officers only) with white and yellow edge, bearing the central disc of the medal at its centre, resting on the left hip.
At the formal ceremony, both medals can be worn at the same time depending upon the individual's achievements. The medal is suspended on a ribbon, dark green colour with a light yellow and white central stripe with white edge stripes.
Grades of the Order of Imtiaz
This award is the 3rd Grade in the Order of Imtiaz (Excellence ). The four Grades in the Order of Imtiaz are:
Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence; Urdu : نشانِ امتیاز )
Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence; Urdu : ہلالِ امتیاز )
Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence; Urdu : ستارہ امتیاز )
Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence; Urdu : تمغہِ امتیاز ).[ 3]
The ribbon for the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Civilian) is:
Yellow with a white centre band and a narrow Pakistan Green stripe in the middle.
The ribbon for the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military) is:
Recipients of Sitara-e-Imtiaz
1950s
Lieutenant Colonel Shaukat Syed (1959)
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2004
Mr Iftikhar Ahmad, PSP, (DIG Police, Multan) (Punjab)
Riazul Islam (Historian)[ 16]
Professor M. Sultan Farooqui
Professor Kazi Abdul Shakoor
Professor Faiz Muhammad Khan
Professor Dr. Manzoor Hussain Khan (Engineering/Metallurgy & Material Education)[ 17]
2005
2006
Liaquat H. Merchant (Banking Litigation, Services rendered in health and education sectors)
Mohammad Hussain Dadabhoy (2006)[ 18]
Dr Faiz Mohammad Khan (2006)[ 18]
Sultan Ali Allana (2006)[ 18]
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Rao Maaz Khalid (Car Enthusiast)
Rear Admiral Moazzam Ilyas
Saeed Akhtar (Portrait Painter)
Dr.Engr.M.P.Gangwani (Bureaucrat & Social Worker)
Mohammad Yousuf (Former Test Player) in 2011
Siraj ul Haq Memon (literature and journalism)
2012
2015
Prof. Dr. Shahid Mahmood Baig (Science: Genetic Disorders in Pakistan)
Niaz Ahmad Akhtar (Education: Engineering & Technology)
Asif Mahmood Jah
Masood Ashar , (Literature)
Zahid Pervaiz, (Public Service)[ 25]
Col(R) Ayyaz Nasir
Yasmin Tahir (Arts: Compering)
Umar Saif (Education: Information Technology)
Mujahid Kamran (Education)
Rahat Ali Khan (Music: Classical & Semi Classical International Singer)
Saeed Ajmal (Sports: Cricket)
Abdul Rashid Seyal (Public Service)
Muhammad Parvez Masud (Social Services)
Muhammad Younas Sheikh (Social Work)
Hafeez ur Rehman Hoorani
Science (Physics)
Sindh, Pakistan
Muhammad Iqbal
Science (Biotechnology)
Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Aslam Noor
Science (Mathematics)
Punjab, Pakistan
Tariq Mahmood Fatik
Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Munir Ahmad
Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Ghulam Sarwar
Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Nadeem Ghaffar
Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Brig (R) Munawar Hussain
Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Aleem Arshad
Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Ayaz Ayub
Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Khalid Naseeruddin Shaikh
Engineering
Sindh, Pakistan
Nayyar Ali Dada
Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Syed Ather Enam
Medicine
Sindh, Pakistan
Mahboob Ali
Medicine
Eice Muhammad
Medicine
Mrs. Shahnaz Wazir Ali
Education
Mohammad Rasul Jan
Science
KPK, Pakistan
Mohsin Raza
Arts (Music)
Punjab, Pakistan
Dr Shahbaz Malik
Literature
Punjab, Pakistan
Mustansar Hussain Tarar
Literature
Punjab, Pakistan
Yussuf Shaheen Daudpota
Literature
Sindh, Pakistan
Halil Toker
Literature
Turkey
Luca Maria Olivieri
Services to Pakistan
Italy
Nergis Mavalvala
Services to Pakistan
USA
Yang Wei
Services to Pakistan
China
Mushtaq Chhapra
Public Service
Sindh, Pakistan
Mian Ijaz ul Hassan
Art
Punjab, Pakistan
2018
Shahzad Nasim
Services to Pakistan
Singapore
Zaid Ahmed Al-Muhaisen
Services to Pakistan
Jordan
Prof. Javed Iqbal
Services to Pakistan
Punjab, Pakistan
Asif Mahmood
Services to Pakistan
USA
Najeeb Ullah Ghauri
Services to Pakistan
USA
Pavel Bem
Services to Pakistan
Czech Republic
Selamic Kilic
Services to Pakistan
Turkey
Berislav Gaso
Services to Pakistan
Croatia
Zia Aftab
Engineering (Electronics)
Punjab, Pakistan
Safdar Moavia
Engineering (Mechanical)
Punjab, Pakistan
Rehan Majid
Engineering (Mechanical/ Aerospace)
Sindh, Pakistan
Rizwan Hussain
Science (Chemistry)
Punjab, Pakistan
Abdul Qayyum
Engineering (Mechanical)
Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Ilyas
Engineering (Mining)
Punjab, Pakistan
Arshad Saleem Bhatti
Science (Physics, Nano-Science & Nanotechnology)
Punjab, Pakistan
Ayub Sabir
Education
KPK, Pakistan
Kamran Vasfy
Academic Distinction (Medicine/Destist)
Asrar Ahmad (Ibne Safi) (late)
Literature
Sindh, Pakistan
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani [ 33]
Public Service
Sindh, Pakistan
Allam Razi Jafar Haqvi
Public Service
Sindh, Pakistan
Muhammad Javed Afridi
Public Service
KPK, Pakistan
Ahmedullah
Public Service (Highest Tax Payer)
Rehan Hassan
Public Service (Highest Tax Payer)
Justice (R) Nasira Iqbal
Public Service
Brigadier (R.) Tahir Ali Syed
Pakistan Army (Military)
Punjab, Pakistan
Abdul Hamid
Science (Physics)
Punjab, Pakistan
Raja Shahid Nazir
Engineering (Mechanical)
Punjab, Pakistan
Abdul Majeed Tilokar
Engineering (Metallurgy)
Punjab, Pakistan
Sajid Baloch
Engineering (Electronics)
Punjab, Pakistan
Naeem Ullah Dar
Engineering (Mechanical)
Punjab, Pakistan
Haider Ali Bhatty
Engineering (Aerospace)
Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Saleem
Engineering (Chemical)
Punjab, Pakistan
Amin Bahadur
Engineering (Mechanical)
KPK, Pakistan
Faizan Mansoor
Engineering (Nuclear Safety Regulation)
(Islamabad)
Muhammad Aniq
Engineering (Civil)
Sindh, Pakistan
Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui (Late)
Education
Sindh, Pakistan
Farhan Saif
Education
Punjab, Pakistan
Ms. Bushra Ansari [ 35]
Arts (Acting)
Sindh, Pakistan
Talat Hussain [ 35]
Arts (Acting)
Sindh, Pakistan
Muhammad Imran Qureshi
Arts (Miniature/Painting) (Punjab)
Ms. Sultana Siddiqui
Arts (Drama Writer/Director/Producer)
Sindh, Pakistan
Syed Farooq Qaiser
Arts (Puppeteer/Writer)
Punjab, Pakistan
Naeem Altaf Bukhari
Arts (Anchorperson)
Punjab, Pakistan
Abdul Qadir (Late)
Sports (Cricket)
Punjab, Pakistan
Sr. Ruth Lewis (Late)[ 36]
Public Service
Brig. Rana Arfan Shakeel Ramay
Public Service
Punjab, Pakistan
Col. Sarwar Sultana
Public Service
Punjab, Pakistan
Khalid Mahmood
Public Service
Sindh, Pakistan
Ms. Sabina Khatri
Public Service
Sindh, Pakistan
Ahmed Irfan Aslam
Public Service
Adnan Asdar Ali [ 37] [ 38]
Philanthropy
Sindh, Pakistan
Pir Syed Lakht e Hassanain
Philanthropy
Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Masood ul Hassan
Science (Physics)
Punjab, Pakistan
Syed Hussain Abidi
Science (Industrial Biotechnology)
Punjab, Pakistan
Aslam Umer
Engineering (Mechanical)
Sindh, Pakistan
Tariq Hameed
Engineering (Nuclear)
Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Shahzad
Control Design System
Punjab, Pakistan
Syed Waqar Azim
Engineering (Mechanical)
Punjab, Pakistan
Naveed ur Rehman
Avionics & Aerospace
Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Iqbal System Engineering
Punjab, Pakistan
Arshad Nawaz Khan
Engineering (Chemical)
Punjab, Pakistan
Ms. Abida Riaz Shahid Alias Nelo (late)
Art (Acting)
Punjab, Pakistan
Rashid Ali Rana
Fine Arts
Punjab, Pakistan
Shahid Abdullah
Architect
Sindh, Pakistan
Syed Akeel Bilgrami
Architect
Sindh, Pakistan
Salman Iqbal
Sport (Services to Cricket)
Maj. Gen. Arshad Naseem
Public Service
Punjab, Pakistan
Ms. Roshan Khursheed Bharucha
Social Work
Mehmood ul Haq Alvi (late)
Philanthropist
2023
Babar Azam (Cricket)
References
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Nishaan (Order) Hilal (Crescent) Sitara (Star) Tamgha (Medal) Others
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