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

Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. 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 (economic, military, cultural, or otherwise), taken to be the aim of government. Etymology The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni della Casa around t ...

s of Pakistan, or

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

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 from ...

contribution, or other significant public or private endeavors". The award is not limited to

Pakistani citizens Pakistani nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Pakistani nationality. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, which came into force on 13 April 1951. With few exceptions ...

. 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 national ...

s. It is bestowed 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.Independence day.

History

Hilal-e-Pakistan and other civil awards came into existence following the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

of Pakistan on March 23, 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 ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...

and

Decorations Act, 1975 Decorations Act 1975 is a law enacted in April 1975 by the Parliament of Pakistan. It allows government, in particular president to confer, withdraw, postpone or announce civil and gallantry awards for Pakistani and foreign citizens. It also allow ...

. 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 ( bn, হাইকোর্ট ডিভিশন) popularly known as the 'High Court' is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate D ...

Amin Ahmed Amin Ahmed NPk, MBE ( bn, আমিন আহমদ; 1 October 1899 – 5 December 1991) was a jurist and chief justice of the Dacca High Court in Bangladesh. Early life and education Amin Ahmed was born on 1 October 1899 at Ahmadpur vill ...

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 Hilal-e-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 ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakistan ...

was accused in 2011 for conferring 185 civil awards including 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’, � ...

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 or a target public. These include news agencies, print media (newspapers, news magazines), broadcast news (radio and television), and th ...

in 2011, covered reports stating that its former prime minister

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and Politician, statesman who served as ...

including

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

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

References