President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday honored 47 members of the armed forces with prestigious military awards in recognition of their exceptional courage, leadership, and distinguished service dedicated to the defense of Pakistan. The investiture ceremony took place at Aiwan-e-Sadr and was attended by First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, senior government officials, and families of the awardees.
Among the honorees were three personnel who were posthumously awarded the Sitara-e-Basalat for their gallantry and ultimate sacrifice while performing their duties. This group included Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Ali Shaukat Shaheed, Sepoy Soban Majeed Baloch Shaheed, and Sepoy Israr Muhammad Shaheed.
In addition, the President conferred the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) on 44 senior officers from various branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces, acknowledging their exemplary leadership and meritorious service. Notable recipients from the Pakistan Air Force included Air Marshal Kashif Qamar, Air Marshal Amir Shahzad, Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Amir Hayat, Air Vice Marshal Shahid Mansoor Jehangiri, Air Vice Marshal Khalid Mehmood, and Air Vice Marshal Tahir Mahmood.
Representing the Pakistan Army, the awardees featured a distinguished group of Major Generals such as Muhammad Shahid Abro, Malik Maqbool Raza, Sibtain Rafique, Ijaz Ahmad, Malik Mohammad Shahzad, Amer Ashfaq Kayani, Qaiser Suleman, Omer Naseem, Luqman Hafeez, Aamer Amin, Syed Imran Arif, Haroon Hameed Chaudhary, Waseem Iftikhar Cheema, Muhammad Hussain, Shoaib Bin Akram, Yasir Nawaz Janjua, Kashif Khalil, Syed Abbas Ali, Ahmad Kamal, Kashif Abdullah, Rana Arfan Shakeel Ramay, Muhammad Abbas, Anjum Riaz, Atique Ahmed, Naveed Ahmed, Sajid Amin, Muhammad Intikhab Alam, Muhammad Shahzad Khan, Shahid Amir Afsar, Nisar Ul Haq, and Jawad Riaz.
From the Pakistan Navy, the honored officers included Rear Admiral Mazhar Mahmood Malik, Director General Medical Services Rear Admiral Rizwan Sadiq, Rear Admiral Adnan Majeed, Rear Admiral Shahzad Hamid, Rear Admiral Azhar Mahmood, Rear Admiral Shahzad Iqbal, and Rear Admiral Muhammad Khalid.
