The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") 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". 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 Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

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 ...

in 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-Commodores or

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 ...

s in the (

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 ...

) and

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

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 regarde ...

in the (

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

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 (refl ...

). The

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

'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 The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pak ...

. On advice of the Prime minister, the President organizes a colourful ceremony that is telecast and broadcast by the

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical c ...

. 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 The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the award is not limited to citizens ...

'' (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 Insignia

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: * White edges with Pakistan Green band on each side, two equal white stripes separated by an equal sized Pakistan Green stripe in the middle.

Recipients of Sitara-e-Imtiaz

1950s

* Lieutenant Colonel Shaukat Syed (1959)

1960s

* Muhammad Enamul Huq (Bangladesh) (1962)

1970s

1980s

* Khwaja Khurshid Anwar (film music director and musicologist) (1980) * Brig. General Mian Muhammad Afzaal CGS (Shaheed) (later Lt. General) (1980) * Professor S. Muhib ur Rab (1980) * Brig. Muhammad Salim (Army Medical Corps) * Munier Choudhuri * Ghulam Ali (Singer) * Dr. A. R. Kemal (Economist) *

Sayed Nafees al-Hussaini ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muham ...

(Calligrapher) * Allama Ghulam Mustafa Qasmi ( Islamic Scholar ) * Maulana Shamsul Haq Afghani (1980) * Ayub Khan Ommaya (1981) * A.Q Mughal * Dr. Israr Ahmed (Islamic scholar & philosopher )1981

1990s

* Prof. Misbah-Ud-Din Shami (1990),

Crystallography Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics ( condensed matter physics). The wor ...

Salim Mehmud Dr. Salim Mehmud, also known as Salim Mehmood, is a Pakistani rocket scientist and a nuclear engineer. He is the former chairman of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). He has served as chief scientist at the Defence Scien ...

(1990), significant contributions to SUPARCO *

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 ...

(squash player) (1993) *

Shamsul-hasan Shams Barelvi Shamsul-hasan Shams Barelvi (1917, in Bareilly, British India – 12 March 1997, in Karachi) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and a translator of classical Islamic texts from Persian and Arabic into Urdu. He was a professor of Persian and Arabi ...

(1995) * Group Capt Dr Muhammad Aslam Butt (PAF). *

Wazir Agha Wazir Agha ( ur, ) was a Pakistani Urdu language writer, poet, critic and essayist. He has written many poetry and prose books. He was also editor and publisher of the literary magazine "Auraq" for many decades. He introduced many theories in U ...

(writer) * Abdul Majid (1999), significant contributions to SUPARCO *

Talib Jauhari Talib Johri (27 August 1929 – 21 June 2020) ( ur, ) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar, poet, historian and philosopher of the Shia Sect of Islam. He is widely renowned as the most prominent Shia scholar, and his sermons were broadcast on PTV ...

( poet, philosopher, Muslim scholar of Shiite sect and orator ) *

Munir Niazi Munir Ahmed Niazi, ( pa, ) (9 April 1923– 26 December 2006) was an Punjabi and Urdu poet from Pakistan. He also wrote for newspapers, magazines and radio. In 1960, he established a publication institute, ''Al-Misal''. He was later asso ...

(Poet) * Professor Iqtedar Hussain Bhatti (1999)

2001

2002

2003

2004

* Mr Iftikhar Ahmad, PSP, (DIG Police, Multan) (Punjab) * Dr. Riazul Islam (Historian) * Professor M. Sultan Farooqui * Professor Kazi Abdul Shakoor * Professor Faiz Muhammad Khan

2005

2006

* Liaquat H. Merchant (Banking Litigation, Services rendered in health and education sectors) * Mohammad Hussain Dadabhoy (2006) * Dr Faiz Mohammad Khan (2006) *

Sultan Ali Allana Sultan Ali Allana is a Pakistani banker. He is the Director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and the Chairman of Habib Bank Limited. Early life and education Sultan Ali Allana was born in Karachi, in 1959. He attended St. Patric ...

(2006)

2007

* Dr. A. R. Kemal * Brig. Muhammad Mansur Aslam

2008

* Azhar Mahmood (Federal Investigation Agency)

2009

* Brig. Ali Nasre Alam * Brig Sohail Ahmed Qureshi *

Javed Ahmed Ghamidi Javed Ahmad Ghamidi ( ur, , translit=Jāvēd Aḥmad Ghāmidī; April 7, 1952) is a Pakistani philosopher, educationist, and scholar of Islam. He is also the founding President of Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences and its sister organisat ...

* Ayesha Jalal

2010

Rahimullah Yusufzai Rahimullah Yusufzai (رحیم اللہ یوسُفزئی) (10 September 1954 – 9 September 2021) was a Pakistani journalist, political and security analyst, best known for having interviewed Osama bin Laden, and Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Om ...

* Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib

2011

* Rao Maaz Khalid (Car Enthusiast) * Rear Admiral Moazzam Ilyas * Saeed Akhtar (Portrait Painter)

2012

* Aslam Azhar (pioneer of

) * Mohammad Qavi Khan *

Shaista Zaid Shaista Zaid is a former well known Pakistani English newscaster and radio presenter who worked for Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan for almost four decades . In 1988, she received presidential Pride of Performance Awards for her brilliant w ...

(English newscaster - Pakistan Television Corporation))

2015

* Prof. Dr.

Niaz Ahmad Akhtar Niaz Ahmad Akhtar (Urdu: نیاز احمد اختر ) is a Pakistani academic who is working as a vice-chancellor of the University of the Punjab and the vice-chairman of the Pakistan Engineering Council. He is also working as the professor emerit ...

(Education: Engineering & Technology) * Dr.

Asif Mahmood Jah use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

* Masood Ashar, (Literature) *Dr. Zahid Pervaiz, (Public Service)

2016

2017

Raees Ahmed Raees Ahmed (born 13 December 1994) is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for Faisalabad. He made his first-class debut for Faisalabad in the 2017–18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on 26 September 2017. He made his List A debut for Faisalabad in the 2017� ...

(arts, sitar) * Yang Wei (China) *

Mustansar Hussain Tarar Mustansar Hussain Tarar ( ur, ; ) S.I. (born 1 March 1939) is a Pakistani author, travel enthusiast, mountaineer, writer, novelist, columnist, TV host and former actor. Early life Mustansar Hussain Tarar was born in Jokalian on 1 March 1939 ...

(travelogue writer, novelist) * Hafeez-ur-Rehman Hoorani (

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

) * Muhammad Iqbal (

Biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

) * Muhammad Aslam Noor (

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

) *Tariq Mahmood Fatik (

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

) *Munir Ahmad (

) *Ghulam Sarwar (

) *Nadeem Ghaffar (

) *Brig (R) Munawar Hussain (

) *Aleem Arshad (

) *Ayaz Ayub (

) *Khalid Naseeruddin Shaikh (

) *Nayyar Ali Dada (

) *Prof. Dr. Syed Ather Enam (

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 pr ...

) *Dr Mahboob Ali (

) *Dr. Eice Muhammad (

) *Mrs. Shahnaz Wazir Ali (

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

) * Mohammad Rasul Jan (

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 ...

)

2018

Zia Chishti Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti (born 1971) is a Pakistani-American investor and business executive. He is the founder of Afiniti and TRG Global. After starting his career as a Morgan Stanley investment banker, Chishti invented the medical devic ...

(entrepreneur) * Ashar Aziz *

Saira Afzal Tarar Saira Afzal Tarar (; born 7 June 1966) is a Pakistani politician who served as Minister for National Health Services Regulation and Coordination, in the Abbasi cabinet from August 2017 to May 2018. She served as the Minister of State for Nat ...

* Ashtar Ausaf Ali *

Zahid Bashir Zahid Bashir (Urdu: زاہد بشیر) is the former spokesman and press secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He had been the chairman of red crescent Punjab, director general of Pakistan post, senior adviser to governor of Punjab and d ...

Shahzad Roy Shehzad Roy (born 16 February 1977) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, guitarist, activist, social worker and humanitarian. He started his singing career in 1995 and has recorded six albums since. He has recorded many hit songs such as "Saali," ...

Sarfraz Ahmed Sarfaraz Ahmed ( ur, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Pakistani professional cricketer, a wicketkeeper-batsman, who plays for the Pakistani national cricket team. He was the former captain of the Pakistan side in all formats. He leads Quetta Gladiato ...

(cricketer) *

Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی‎, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...

2019

2020

2021

References

{{Military of Pakistan Civil awards and decorations of Pakistan Military awards and decorations of Pakistan Awards established in 1957 1957 establishments in Pakistan