Nishan-i-Imtiaz
Encyclopedia
The Nishan-i-Imtiaz is one of the state organized civil decoration
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 their investiture takes place on the following...

s of State of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. It is the highest honor — along with comparable to optimum award Nishan-e-Pakistan
Nishan-e-Pakistan
The Nishan-e-Pakistan is the highest of civil awards and decorations given by the Government of Pakistan for the highest degree of service to the country and nation of Pakistan...

 — given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements that caused the world recognition for Pakistan or/ done a outstanding service for the country. The award is not limited to citizens of Pakistan and, while it is a civilian award, it can also be awarded to military personnel and worn on the uniform. Nishan, translates as Decoration/Order, is a highly restricted and prestigious award roughly equivalent to Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...

 (United States) and Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (United Kingdom), and is the first category award of Order of Imtiaz. The other three descending categories are Hilal-i-Imtiaz
Hilal-i-Imtiaz
The Hilal-i-Imtiaz, English: Crescent of Excellence, Urdu: هلال ا متيا ز , is the second highest civilian award and honor given to both civilians and military officers of the State of Pakistan|Pakistan armed forces by the Government of Pakistan...

, Sitara-i-Imtiaz
Sitara-i-Imtiaz
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz , is the third highest honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes the individuals who made an "especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of Pakistan, world peace, cultural or other significant public endeavors"...

 and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz. Usually, it is regarded as the highest award one can achieve in Pakistan since the optimum award Nishan-e-Pakistan
Nishan-e-Pakistan
The Nishan-e-Pakistan is the highest of civil awards and decorations given by the Government of Pakistan for the highest degree of service to the country and nation of Pakistan...

 is awarded only to foreign Heads of States.

The award was established in March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of State of Pakistan as Parliamentary republic, by the 1956 Constitution
Constitution of Pakistan of 1956
The Constitution of 1956 was the fundamental law of Pakistan from March 1956 until the Revolution of October 1958.-Origins:Pakistan became independent of the United Kingdom in 1947. Under Section 8 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, the Government of India Act, 1935 became, with certain...

. The award is a top and prestigious decoration in the country. It is given to a person who has accomplished duty beyond what is assigned to him/her. To receive this honor, the individuals are must understand the fact, that just accomplishing routine duty is not the criterion for the award. The person has to show eminence and be outstanding in providing excellent service in a significant field of activity. It means that he/she has to prove that he/she has achieved distinction.

The award may be awarded posthumously and may also be awarded to an individual more than once, though it is has not been awarded twice since 1999. Nishan-i-Imtiaz, is an honor given by the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...

 to both the military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces and civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

s who have done outstanding contributions that prompted world recognition of Pakistan. The award is highly restricted and most prestigious award that is only conferred if the individuals met the criteria and nominations for receiving this honor. For civilians, it is awarded for distinguished merit, honoring their excellence in their respected fields of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

, arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....

, sports, medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, or science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

. The award is usually given to individuals in isolation not in groups because the whole purpose of the award is to assess the recipients individual capabilities in par excellence.

For those in the military it is given after distinguished service and is also the highest medal award that can be awarded to those at the ranks of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

s (Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...

), Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

s (Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...

), and the Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

s (both Navy
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...

, Coast Guard
Pakistan Coast Guard
The Pakistan Coast Guards is an important branch of the Pakistan Civil Armed Forces and one of the six paramilitary services operating under the administrative control of Minisrty of Interior, Government of Pakistan. Pakistan Coast Guards, headquartered in Karachi, is unique in that it has...

, and Marines
Pakistan Marines
The Pakistani Marines , are the Marine Corps and amphibious corps service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Pakistani Marines are a special military operations service branch of the Pakistani Navy and part of Pakistani Armed Forces, responsible for providing force projection from the sea,...

).

Parliament's committee for Award and Recognition Services for State of Pakistan, selected the names of individuals and sent final report to Prime minister of Pakistan. On advice of Prime minister, the President organized the colorful ceremony that is telecast and broadcast by the PTV.

This award is held once in a year, nominees are announced on the Independence Day
Independence Day (Pakistan)
Pakistan's independence day is observed on 14 August, the day before Pakistan was made an independent country based on border lines created by the British during the end of their rule of India. Pakistan became an independent country in 1947. The day is a national holiday in Pakistan...

 and the award ceremony takes place on Pakistan Day in a Presidential Palace. Nishan-i-Imtiaz is awarded to the nominees by the President of Pakistan
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...

 in a colorful public ceremony broadcast-ed by the PTV
Pakistan Television Corporation
The Pakistan Television Corporation is Pakistan's national television broadcaster. The first live transmission of PTV began on November 26, 1964, in Lahore...

.

The badge of the Nishan-e-Imtiaz is in the form of pure golden star with light-white enamel
Enamel
Enamel may refer to:* Tooth enamel, the hard mineralized surface of teeth* Vitreous enamel, a smooth, durable coating made of melted and fused glass powder-See also:* Enamel organ, a cellular aggregation that functions in the formation of tooth enamel...

, with well polished green emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...

 circumference to the inside the golden star. Written in gold words around the green emerald, it reads as نشان امتیاز. A golden Jasminum
Jasminum officinale
Jasminum officinale is a species of jasmine, in the family Oleaceae, famous for its scent.-Garden history:...

 stands between the point of the star. It is worn around the neck with yellow bright yellow and white ribbon (for civilians only) or/ bright green and white ribbon (for military officers only) with white edge stripes.

A special pecial 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 (Military officers only) with white and yellow edge, bearing the central disc of the medal at its center) resting on the left hip. At the ceremony, both medals can be wear at the same time according to their achievements.

For military officers, the medal is accompanied by a ribbon bar for wear on military service uniform, a miniature medal pendant for wear on a mess dress, and a lapel badge for wear on civilian clothes.

See also

  • Nishan-e-Haider
    Nishan-e-Haider
    Nishan-e-Haider or Nishan-e-Hyder is the highest military decoration given by Pakistan . It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a Republic, however, it was instituted retrospectively from Independence in 1947...

  • Nishan-e-Pakistan
    Nishan-e-Pakistan
    The Nishan-e-Pakistan is the highest of civil awards and decorations given by the Government of Pakistan for the highest degree of service to the country and nation of Pakistan...

  • Civil decorations of Pakistan
    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 their investiture takes place on the following...

  • Awards and decorations of the Pakistan Armed Forces
  • Government of Pakistan
    Government of Pakistan
    The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...

  • Pakistan Defence Forces
  • Category:Civil awards and decorations of Pakistan

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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