Founding Editor of Pakistaniat.com, our very own Dr. Adil Najam has just been awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan for his contribution and public service in the field of environment and development policy.
Adil is known to all of us as the founder of this blog, but his full time work is as the Frederick S. Pardee Professor of Global Public Policy and the Director of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University. At Boston University he also serves as a Professor of International Relations and of Geography and Environment.
A world expert on matters related to environment and development, and specially on global climate change – he was part of the team of authors that wrote the IPCC reports, work for which the IPCC was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize – for us, he remains the creator of Pakistaniat.com (here, here, here). And we are delighted to see this honor being given to him.
Pakistan’s civil awards are announced by the President of Pakistan every year Independence Day (Aug 14) every year and then awarded on the following Pakistan Day (March 23). Like always, the list of award winners includes Pakistanis and those who have contributed to Pakistan in many areas of expertise. The full list of award winners for this year can be seen here. Some of the interesting and important people who were given Civil Decorations this year, in addition to Adil Najam, include: Bano Qudsia (Hilal-i-Imtiaz), Asma Jahangir (Hilal-i-Imtiaz), Prof. Ayesha Jalal (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Prof. Hasan Askari (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), F.E.Chaudhry (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Jamil Naqsh (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Javed Ahmed Ghamidi (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Prof. Rasul Bakhsh Rais (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Allama Talib Johri (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Hanif Ramay (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Fehmida Riaz (Literature – Pride of Performance), Masud Mufti (Literature – Pride of Performance), Younus Khan (Cricket – Pride of Performance), Shahid Khan Afridi (Cricket – Pride of Performance), Zakauddin (Hockey – Pride of Performance), and many more.
On behalf of all of our readership, I want to congratulate Adil on this honor. Well done Adil Bhai from all of us!
Adil Sahib Jeenday raho Wasday raho…
I too am delighted to hear this as if it is my own.
For someone still so young to have acheived so much at a world level in area of importance such as environment is a great achievement for Pakistan.
Also, I am so glad that Pakistan has recognized his talents and achievements without waiting till it was too late like we usually do.
I also take this opportunity to thank Prof. Najam for having created this blog.
Thank you and congratulations.
Dear all. My gratitude to Owais Mughal for the post and to all of you for your kind wishes and words. My appreciation also to the many who sent messages via the ATP Facebook Page and the even more readers who directly sent messages via email. I am grateful for these sentiments tremendously and the support and appreciation from all of you mean as much as any award itself.
Adil Najam is a polymath who has aciheived so much in so many different fields.
I hope he will also be recognized for this website, for being part of the blogging revolution in Pakistan, and most for developing the sense of Pakistaniat in everyone who encounters him.
Keep going Dr. Najam, you are an inspiration for all of us.
I do not know Prof. Najam except through this blog and seeing him a few times on TV. But for some reason reading this makes me feel really good and proud and happy.
To see the country giving awards and accepting the great minds that we have while they still are alive and active rather than shedding crocodile tears after they die is very very good. It makes me have more faith in us.
Congratulations Prof. Adil Najam