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)	Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Pakistan
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)

Nishan-e-Pakistan 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]

Grand Crosses of the Order

Year	Image	Name	Field	Country
1958		Haile Selassie I[7]	Emperor of Ethiopia	Ethiopia
1960		Hussein bin Talal	King of Jordan	The Hashemite Kingdom of 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 and the other Commonwealth realms
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	United States
1 August 1969		Richard Nixon[8]	President of the United States	United States
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
30 August 1995		Sadžida Silajdžić	Ambassador of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina
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

See also

• Pakistan portal

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

References

1. "Honour & Awards Policy" (PDF). cabinet.gov.pk. Cabinet Division. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
2. "Pakistan confers highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on Saudi Crown Prince". The Hindu. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
3. "The Decorations Act, 1975" (PDF). na.gov.pk. National Assembly of Pakistan. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
4. "Conferment of Civil Awards 2020" (PDF). cabinet.gov.pk. Cabinet of Pakistan. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
5. "Pakistan is honouring late Cuban leader Fidel Castro with Nishan-e-Pakistan today – here's why". Latest News India. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
6. Web Desk (5 December 2023). "Bohra community leader conferred with Nishan-e-Pakistan". Aaj English TV. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
7. ከበደ, በሪሁን (21 September 1993). የአፄ ኃይለሥላሴ ታሪክ. Addis Ababa: አርቲስቲክ ማተሚያ ቤት. p. 1077.
8. Richard Nixon (1 August 1969). "Remarks on Accepting the Nishan-e-Pakistan". Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via The American Presidency Project, U.C. Santa Barbara.
9. "Soeharto ODM". Gentleman's Military Interest Club. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
10. "Mowlana Hazar Imam Receives Pakistan Award". Heritage Society. 23 March 1983. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
11. Shyam Bhatia (11 July 2001). "When India and Pakistan almost made peace". Rediff. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
12. "Mandela in Pakistan". The Independent. UK. 3 October 1992. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
13. "Chinese President 'Xi Jinping' awarded with Nishan-e-Pakistan". The News Teller. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
14. "Mamnoon confers top civil award on President Xi". DAWN.COM. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
15. "King Abdullah ends Asian tour with state visit to Pakistan". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, D.C. 1 February 2006. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008.
16. Subramanian, Nirupama (25 November 2006). "Hu Jintao awarded Nishan-e-Pakistan". The Hindu (newspaper). Retrieved 9 January 2017.
17. "Pakistan, Turkey can together bring peace to region: Erdogan". Associated Press of Pakistan. 26 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012.
18. "Erdogan conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan". The Nation. APP. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
19. "Nawaz thanks Gul for supporting Pakistan in hard times". The News International. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
20. "Turkish President arrives on four-day visit". Dunya News. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
21. "Chinese PM awarded Nishan-e-Pakistan on arrival in Islamabad". The Express Tribune. AFP and Reuters. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
22. "Nishan-e-Pakistan award conferred on Xi Jinping". The Hindu. PTI. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
23. "Pakistan is honouring late Cuban leader Fidel Castro with Nishan-e-Pakistan today – here's why". Times Now. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
24. "President Alvi confers Nishan-e-Pakistan on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman". The Express Tribune. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
25. PTI (18 February 2019). "Pakistan confers highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on Saudi Crown Prince". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
26. "Pakistan to confer highest civilian award on Dr M". Malay Mail. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
27. "Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan bestowed with Nishan-e-Pakistan by President Arif Alvi". The News International. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
28. "Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan bestowed with Nishan-e-Pakistan by President Arif Alvi". The News International. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
29. "Darren Sammy to become honorary citizen of Pakistan". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
30. Bhat, Tariq (14 August 2020). "Pakistan confers highest civilian award on Syed Ali Shah Geelani". The Week. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
31. @PresOfPakistan (5 November 2020). "President Dr. Arif Alvi conferring the award of Nishan-e-Pakistan on Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sefik Dzaferovic, at Aiwan-e-Sadr" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
32. "Pakistan confers the highest civilian award on Prince Khalid bin Salman". Arab News. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.

External links

• Decorations and Medals of Pakistan