ISLAMABAD:
President Mamnoon Hussain conferred on Monday civil and military awards on those who had achieved distinction in their fields.
A total of 112 awards – 52 civil and 60 military – were given away at an investiture ceremony held on the occasion of Pakistan Day.
The ceremony was attended by top military officers, political leaders, government officials and foreign diplomats.
The teachers and students of the Army Public School, Peshawar, were decorated with top civil awards for demonstrating bravery when terrorists attacked the institution on Dec 16 last year, killing 135 students and 10 staffers, including the principal.
The school’s former principal Tahira Qazi and teacher Saima Zareen were awarded Sirtara-i- Shujaat while others were given Tamgha-i-Shujaat.
Other prominent people who received their awards included Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, Maj Gen Sanaullah Khan Niazi (late), religious scholar Agha Hassan Abedi, National University of Science and Technology Rector Mohammad Ashgar, distinguished journalist Minhaj Barna (late) and sports journalist Dr Nauman Hamid Niaz.