PM forms committee to review civil awards system
Retired federal secretary Nasir Mahmood Khosa will convene the panel examining nomination, scrutiny and selection procedures for national honours.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a high-level committee to review the system for conferring Pakistan's civil awards, the Cabinet Division said in a notification dated September 21, 2026.
The notification, obtained by Minute Mirror and carrying the number F.8/6/2026-Awards-I, supersedes an earlier notification issued on September 1. ARY News reported that the committee has 16 members.
Retired federal secretary Nasir Mahmood Khosa has been named convenor. The chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) will be co-convenor and the secretary of the Cabinet Division will serve as secretary of the committee.
The panel includes former senior police officer Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera, the secretary of parliamentary affairs, the Federal Board of Revenue chairman, the commerce secretary, and the chief secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. A Ministry of Defence representative, former foreign secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi and former director general of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts Jamal Shah are also members.
The committee has been assigned to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing policy and legal framework governing Pakistan civil awards. It will examine eligibility criteria and procedures for nominations, scrutiny, evaluation and final conferment.
Its terms of reference include identifying shortcomings or gaps that may affect the credibility of the awards process, and proposing reforms to make the system more objective, transparent and merit-driven. The committee will also consider measures for greater national inclusiveness in recognising deserving individuals from different regions and sectors, and for insulating the process from political or bureaucratic influence.
The review could lead to changes in how nominations are processed, candidates are assessed and recommendations finalised before civil awards are formally conferred.
Separately, ARY News reported that President Asif Ali Zardari has approved military awards for 1,172 personnel of the armed forces and civil armed forces, and national civil awards for 355 individuals on the occasion of Independence Day. The awards, announced on August 14, will be formally conferred at an investiture ceremony on Pakistan Day, March 23.
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