The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal")civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
s of the
Pakistan Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
by the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...
. It recognises individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of Pakistan, world peace, cultural or other significant public endeavors". It is a civilian award, and not limited to the citizens of Pakistan.
The honour is restricted to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their fields that led to international recognition for the state. It is awarded in the fields of
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
,
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
,
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
,
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
and
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
for civilians. It is announced every year on
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
(14 August), and given on
Pakistan Day
The Resolution Day ( ur, , translit=Yawm-e-Qarārdād), also known as the Pakistan Day ( ur, , translit=Yawm-e-Pākistān) and Republic Day, is a national holiday in Pakistan primarily commemorating the adoption of the Lahore Resolution by the Mu ...
, 23 March, by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.PM ZA Bhutto to 4 star General
Zia ul Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...
after Zia was appointed Chief of the Army in 1976. Initially awarded exclusively to officers reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense, after 1979 it began to be award in a new format to officers who were up to two steps removed from the Secretary of Defense, such as
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
or
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
(
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
),
Air Vice-Marshal
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
) and
Rear-Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded ...
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
,
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
, and
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
). The
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
's committee for award and recognition services selects the names of individuals and sends their report to the prime minister; on his advice, the president announces the awards in a ceremony that is broadcast by PTV. The award is usually given to individuals, not groups, because the purpose of the award is to recognise the recipients' individual contributions.
The award is a disc of golden
jasminum
Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...
between the five points of a pure gold star. The star has additional bright jasminum; in its centre there is a green emerald with a golden
crescent
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
.
A special grade of the medal has a larger execution of the same medal design worn as a star on the left of the chest. In addition, it is worn as a sash on the right shoulder, with its rosette (yellow with white for civilians and green for military officers) and white and yellow edge bearing the central disc of the medal at its centre, resting on the left hip. At the ceremony, both medals can be worn at the same time according to their achievements. The medal is suspended on a dark green ribbon with a light yellow and white central stripe and white edge stripes.
Military officers who receive the award are given a Non-Prohibited Bore Arms License.
Grades of the Order of Imtiaz
This award is the 2nd Grade in the Order of Imtiaz (Excellence). The four Grades in the Order of Imtiaz are:
# ''
Nishan-e-Imtiaz
The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan.
It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...
'' (Order of Excellence; )
# ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (Crescent of Excellence; )
# '' Sitara-e-Imtiaz'' (Star of Excellence; )
# ''
Tamgha-e-Imtiaz
Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...
'' (Medal of Excellence; ).
Service Ribbon
A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...
Insignia
The ''ribbon'' for the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Civilian) is:
* Yellow with a white centre band and a narrow
Pakistan Green
Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint be ...
Pakistan Green
Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint be ...
centre band and a single white stripe in the middle.
Recipients
*
Rohail Hyatt
Rohail Hyatt (Urdu: روحیل حیات) is a Pakistani record producer, Synthesizer, keyboardist, and Music composer, composer. As record producer, Hyatt is largely credited with pioneering Pakistani pop rock music by incorporating western Ro ...
(2021)
*
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Kishwar Naheed
Kishwar Naheed ( ur, ) (born 1940) is a feminist Urdu poet and a writer from Pakistan. She has written several poetry books. She has also received awards including Sitara-e-Imtiaz for her literary contribution towards Urdu literature.
Early l ...
(2021)
* Dr.
Asif Mahmood Jah
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, death_place =
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(2021)
*
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Mohammad
Asad Durrani
Lieutenant General Asad Ahmed Durrani ( ur, اسد أحمد درانی; born 7 February 1941) is a retired 3-star rank general in the Pakistan Army and presently a commentator, speaker and author. Durrani previously served as the Director G ...
(Director General
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
)
*
Abdul Bari Khan
Abdul Bari Khan Hilal-i-Imtiaz, HI Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, TI Eisenhower Fellowship, EF (born; 1961) (Urdu language, Urdu: پروفیسر ڈاکٹر عبدالباری خان) is a Pakistani cardiac surgeon and philanthropist. He is the founder of Indus ...
(2019)
*Zaheer Ayub Baig (2019)
*Ghulam Asghar (2019)
*
Tasawar Hayat
Tasawar Hayat (born 1 January 1969) is a Pakistani mathematician who has made pioneering research contributions to the area of mathematical fluid mechanics. He is considered one of the leading mathematicians working in Pakistan and currently is ...
(2019)
*
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram HI (; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, coach, and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, and several criti ...
(2019)
*
Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis Maitla HI ( Punjabi, ur, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, Waqar Younis is regarded as one of the grea ...
(2019)
*
Recep Akdag
Recep may refer to:
People Surname
* Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer
* Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer
Given name
* Recep Adanır (born 1929), Turkish footballer
* Recep Akdağ (born 1960), Turkish physician and poli ...
(Turkey-2019)
* Dr Michael Jansen (Germany-2019)
*
Hussain Dawood
Hussain Dawood (born 20 September 1943) is a Pakistani businessman, investor, educationalist and philanthropist. Dawood is the Chairman of two publicly listed companies in Pakistan: the Dawood Hercules Corporation and Engro Corporation.
Dawoo ...
(Business and
Philanthropy
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
Anwar Maqsood
Anwar Maqsood Hameedi (born 7 September 1939, Urdu:), popularly known as Anwar Maqsood, is a Pakistani scriptwriter, television presenter, satirist, humorist, and infrequent actor. He was well known for his drama write-ups for PTV in the late ...
Abida Parveen
Abida Parveen (Urdu, sd, ; born 20 February 1954) is a Pakistani singer, composer and musician of Sufi music. She is also a painter and entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music has earned he ...
(musician and Sufi music performer) (2013)
*
Josh Malihabadi
Josh Malihabadi (born Shabbir Hasan Khan; 5 December 1898 – 22 February 1982) popularly known as Shayar-e-Inqalab (poet of revolution) was a Pakistani poet and is regarded as one of the finest Urdu poets of the era of British India. Kno ...
(1894–1982) Urdu poet (2013)
*
Abdul Hafeez Kardar
Abdul Hafeez Kardar PP, HI ( ur, ) (17 January 1925 – 21 April 1996) was a Pakistani cricketer, politician and diplomat. He was the first captain of the Pakistan cricket team. He is one of the only three players to have played Test crick ...
(1925–1996) former
Pakistan Cricket Team
The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International ...
captain (2013)
*
Ansar Burney
Ansar Burney ( ur, انصار برنی; born 14 August 1956) is a Pakistani human and civil rights activist and former caretaker Federal Minister for human rights in Pakistan cabinet from 2007 to 2008. He graduated with Masters in Law from K ...
Zia Mohyeddin
Zia Mohyeddin (; born 20 June 1931) is a British-Pakistani actor, producer, director and television broadcaster who has appeared in both Pakistani cinema and television as well as in British cinema and television throughout his career.
Zia M ...
(actor, television anchor and broadcaster) (2013)
* Azhar Abbas (journalist) (2013)
*
Khalid Abbas Dar
Khalid Abbas Dar (born 1945 ) is an actor, playwright, director, theatre producer, entertainer, mimic, one-man show and a television host in Pakistan. In a career spanning over five decades, Dar has established himself as one of the greatest en ...
Abdul Halim Mohd Hanifah
Abdul Halim bin Mohd Hanifah () served as the 8th Commander of the Armed Forces (Brunei), commander of the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) from 2008 to 2013.
Early life and education
Abdul Halim was born on 24 January 1965. Throughout his career, he ...
(
Royal Brunei Navy
The Royal Brunei Navy ( ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei, abbreviated TLDB) is the naval defence force of Brunei Darussalam. It is a small but relatively well-equipped force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions and ...
commander) (2012)
*
Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary
Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary ( ur, born 11 September 1959) is a scientist in the field of organic chemistry from Pakistan. He is known for his research in various areas relating to natural product chemistry. He has more than 800 research public ...
(Organic chemist) (2007)
*
Iftikhar Arif
Iftikhar Hussain Arif ( ur, ; born 21 March 1944), is an Urdu poet, scholar and littérateur from Pakistan. His style is romantic Urdu poetry. He has headed the Pakistan Academy of Letters and the National Language Authority. He has received t ...
(poet, scholar and literary critic) (2006)
*
Ashfaq Ahmed
Ashfaq Ahmed Khan ( ur, ; 22 August 1925 – 7 September 2004) was a writer, playwright and broadcaster from Pakistan. His works in Urdu included novels, short stories and plays for television and radio of Pakistan. He received the President's ...
(1925–2004) (writer, playwright and television broadcaster) (2006)182 Pakistan Civil Awards conferred Business Recorder (newspaper), Published 24 March 2006, Retrieved 10 November 2018
*
Faridullah Khan
Malik Faridullah Khan Wazir ( HI) (died 29 May 2005) was a Pakistani politician and former federal minister and member of the Senate of Pakistan.
Khan was assassinated on 29 May 2005, shortly after leaving Wana, the regional headquarters of Sou ...
(politician) (2005)
*
Mushtaq Ahmed Yousfi
Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi D.Litt. ( HC), SI, HI ( ur, – , 4 September 1923 – 20 June 2018) born in Tonk, Rajasthan, India 1923, was a Pakistani satire and humour writer who wrote in Urdu. Yousufi also served as the head of several national an ...
(writer) (2002)
*
Jansher Khan
Jansher Khan PP SI HI ( ur, جان شیر خان; born 15 June 1969, in Peshawar, Pakistan) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. During his career, he won the World Open a record eight times, and the British Open s ...
(Squash Legend) (1997)
*
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
(Sports) 1992
* Dr. A. Q. Khan (Nuclear scientist) 1989
*
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan ( ur, ; 20 May 1926 – 22 April 1999), , was a Pakistani nuclear reactor physicist who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nati ...
Major General Muhammad Ikram Cheema
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
(Military) 1987
*
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Mian Muhammad Afzaal (Shaheed) (Military) 1987
*
Hamoodur Rahman
Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman ( ur, ; 1 November 1910 – 20 December 1981), . , was a Pakistani Bengali Judge, jurist and an academic who served as the Chief Justices of Pakistan, Chief Justice of Pakistan from 18 November 1968 until 31 ...
(academic) 1984
*
Ruth Pfau
Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, FCM (9 September 1929 – 10 August 2017) was a Germans, German–Pakistanis, Pakistani Catholic Church, Catholic Christian religious sister and physician who was a member of the "Society of the Daughters of the Heart ...
General Zia ul Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...
(Military) 1976
See also
*
Civil decorations of Pakistan
The Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, August 14, and ...