KARACHI – Engro Corporation Limited honored with civilian excellence awards and a cash prize three stalwarts in the fields of social and humanitarian services, literature and natural and applied sciences.
A prestigious and well-attended ceremony, hosted by ECL at Mohatta Palace at the weekend, marked the first Engro Excellence Awards 2011. Abdul Sattar Edhi, Dr Atta-Ur-Rehman and Mushtaq Ahmed Yousfi were declared winners of the first edition of the excellence awards for their landmark accomplishments in the fields of social and humanitarian services, physical and applied sciences and literature respectively.
The awardees were given the Engro Excellence Medallion and a cash prize of Rs 5.0 million each. The nominees were adjudicated by a jury comprising the country’s five most esteemed and respected personalities, each of whom is considered a symbol of excellence and beacons of hope in their relevant fields.
With former SBP Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, in the chair the jury comprised Dr Iqbal Chowdhry, Dr Nafis Sadik, Anita Ghulam Ali and Iftikhar Arif. “Only those nations who recognise and revere their meritorious citisens can succeed, make headway and prosper,” Dr Ishrat told the gathering.
“I am extremely delighted that Engro Corp has taken this noble initiative to recognise the services of imminent Pakistanis who have excelled and made outstanding contributions in their respective fields.” The former central bank governor expressed hope that the awards would inspire many younger Pakistanis to dedicate themselves to hard work so that they could excel in all areas of their lives.
On the occasion, Engro Corporation President Asad Umar said that Pakistan had a great reservoir of talent which, if given the right opportunity and encouragement, could achieve the same results as the best in the world. He said the awards were meant to recognise those who had achieved excellence in their fields and had contributed to society and also to encourage the youth to follow their passion and try and emulate or even surpass these icons of excellence.
According to ECL chief, the selection of winners was based on lifetime accomplishments and excellence of the recipients in their respective fields. He said the Awards and its ceremony had been developed to redefine the standards for excellence for honoring the country’s finest talent. “The Engro Excellence Awards aims to be an annual event and in the long run aims to be seen as one of the most prestigious civilian awards ceremony in Pakistan,” Asad told the well-attended gala.
The Awards, he said, would give the country a chance to present itself to the world as a nation of talented people who are capable, knowledgeable and innovative. The awards gala ended on a high note with a host of artists mesmerising the crowd with some of the country’s best musical hits by presenting live performances.
