President to confers Arshad Nadeem with Hilal-e-Imtiaz

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has announced the awarding of Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the second-highest civilian award, to javelin champion Arshad Nadeem for his record-breaking achievement in the Paris Olympics.

The President will confer the civil award upon Arshad Nadeem under Article 259 (2) of the Constitution during a special ceremony to be held in recognition of his prominent performance in sports,  Aiwan-e-Sadr said in a press release on Saturday.

Under the constitutional provision, the president can confer Pakistani citizens with civil awards in recognition of their meritorious services in different fields of life.

Upon the President’s directive, a letter had been dispatched by the Aiwan-e-Sadr to the Cabinet Division requesting for a Hilal-i-Imtiaz for Nadeem.

In a press release, President Zardari said that Arshad Nadeem, with his brilliant performance, had made the nation proud in the field of sports. “Nadeem’s marvelous achievement at the international level brought laurels to the nation. He had raised the name of the country in athletics,” President House said in a statement.

Arshad Nadeem on Thursday night in Paris claimed a historic gold medal in javelin throw breaking the Summer Games record with a 92.95m throw and becoming Pakistan’s only individual and athletics medal in Olympics history.

Nadeem, 27, won the Olympic men’s javelin title beating defending champion Neeraj Chopra of India, forcing the packed-to-capacity crowd to give him a standing ovation.