Nishan-e-Pakistan

Nishan-e-Pakistan (Urdu: نشانِ پاکستان, lit. 'Grand Cross of the Order of Pakistan') is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.^[2] It is awarded to "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan is awarded to government officials and civilians, including citizens of Pakistan and foreign nationals. In the Pakistan honours system, Nishan-e-Pakistan is equivalent to Nishan-e-Haider, the highest military gallantry award.^[1] Established on 19 March 1975 under the Decorations Act, 1975,^[3] the award is not correlated to the rank or status of a person.^[1]

Nishan-e-Pakistan نشانِ پاکستان
Awarded by Government of Pakistan
Type	National Civilian
Established	19 March 1957
Country	Pakistan
Eligibility	Heads of State
Criteria	"rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan.[1]
Grades	Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Member
Post-nominals	N.Pk
Statistics
First induction	1959
Last induction	2024
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	Grand Officer of the Order of Pakistan
Service Ribbon of the Nishan-e-Pakistan

This award, including other civilian awards, is announced on Independence Day (14 August) each year and its investiture takes place on the following Pakistan Resolution Day (23 March) by the president of Pakistan.^[4] This award can also be awarded posthumously,^[5] and all the recipients are entitled to the post-nominal NPk.

Grades

• (Nishan)
  • Grand Cross with Collar
  • Grand Cross
• Grand Officer (Hilal)
• Commander (Sitara)
• Member (Tamgha)

Insignia

• Collar (Nishan)
• Sash (Nishan)
• Star (Nishan and Hilal)
• Badge (Nishan, Hilal, Sitara and Tamgha)
• Necklet/Bow (Hilal and Sitara)
• Medal (Nishan, Hilal, Sitara and Tamgha)

Gallery

• 
  The Nishan-e-Pakistan
• 
  President Musharraf presenting the then Iranian President Mohammad Khatami with the Nishan-e-Pakistan
• 
  In 2023, President of Pakistan Arif Alvi conferred the Nishan e Pakistan on His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin in a special investiture ceremony in Aiwan e Sadr, Islamabad.^[6]

Recipients

Year	Image	Name	Field	Country
1958		Haile Selassie I[7]	Emperor of Ethiopia	Ethiopia
1960		Hussein bin Talal	King of Jordan	Jordan
9 November 1959		Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi	Shah of Iran	Imperial State of Iran
1960		Queen Elizabeth II	Queen of the United Kingdom	United Kingdom
13 January 1961		Josip Broz Tito	President of Yugoslavia	Yugoslavia
1962		Bhumibol Adulyadej	King of Thailand	Thailand
7 December 1957		Dwight D. Eisenhower	President of the United States	USA
1 August 1969		Richard Nixon[8]	President of the United States	USA
1982		Suharto[9]	President of Indonesia	Indonesia
1983		King Birendra	King of Nepal	Nepal
23 March 1983		Aga Khan IV[10]	Leader of Ismaili Muslims	United Kingdom
19 May 1990		Morarji Desai[11]	Prime Minister of India	India
18 September 1992		Hassanal Bolkiah	Sultan of Brunei Darussalam	Brunei
3 October 1992		Nelson Mandela[12]	President of South Africa	South Africa
March 8, 1997		Fidel Ramos	President of the Philippines	Philippines
10 April 1999		Li Peng	Premier of the People's Republic of China	China
6 April 1999		Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani[13]	Emir of Qatar	Qatar
21 April 2001		Qaboos bin Said[14]	Sultan of Oman	Oman
1 February 2006		King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud[15]	King of Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia
24 November 2006		Hu Jintao[16]	General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party President of the People's Republic of China	China
26 October 2009		Recep Tayyip Erdoğan[17][18]	Prime Minister of Turkey	Turkey
2009		Emperor Akihito[13]	Emperor of Japan	Japan
31 March 2010		Abdullah Gul[19][20]	President of Turkey	Turkey
22 May 2013		Li Keqiang[21]	Premier of the People's Republic of China	China
21 April 2015		Xi Jinping[22]	General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party President of the People's Republic of China	China
23 May 2018		Fidel Castro[23]	former First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba former President of the Council of State of Cuba	Cuba
19 November 2018		Haris Silajdžić	Bosniak Member of the Presidency of Bosna and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina
18 February 2019		Mohammad bin Salman[24][25]	Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia
22 March 2019		Mahathir Mohamad[26]	Prime Minister of Malaysia	Malaysia
26 May 2019		Wang Qishan[27]	Vice President of the People's Republic of China	China
23 June 2019		Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani[28]	Emir of Qatar	Qatar
23 March 2020		Daren Sammy[29]	West Indies cricketer	Saint Lucia
14 August 2020		Syed Ali Shah Geelani[30]	Hurriyat Leader	India
5 November 2020		Šefik Džaferović[31]	Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina
5 December 2023		His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin[6]	Leader of the Dawoodi Bohra Community	India
23 March 2024		Khalid bin Salman[32]	Minister of Defence Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia
3 October 2024		Anwar Ibrahim[33]	Prime Minister of Malaysia	Malaysia
23 March 2025		Zulfikar Ali Bhutto[34]	Prime Minister of Pakistan	Pakistan

See also

• Pakistan portal

• Nishan-e-Pakistan (Monument)
• Nishan-e-Imtiaz
• Civil decorations of Pakistan