An investiture ceremony to confer civil awards upon Pakistani and foreign nationals for their contributions in different fields was held at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad today.                 

President Asif Ali Zardari decorated the awards to the recipients.           

A total of 112 civil awards were presented at the ceremony.

Prominent recipients of the awards were former Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar, politicians Raja Zafar ul Haq and Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Mufti Abdul Shakoor (late), mountaineer Naila Kiani, hockey player Salahuddin, poet Anwar Masood, writer Iftikhar Arif, legendary filmstar Shabnam and singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.          

The foreign nationals who received the award include Country Director Asian Development Bank to Pakistan Yong Ye, UNDP's Knut Ostby, USAID's Samantha Power,  Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Husein, Saudi economist Dr Muhammad Sulaiman al Jasseer and Qatari economist Khalifa Jassim al Kuwari.