KARACHI: The first Engro Excellence Awards celebrated veterans in fields as diverse as literature, applied sciences and humanitarianism.
The awards were held at Mohatta Palace on Saturday evening with restricted access for the media. Renowned satirist and humanist poet Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi received the Ghalib award for literature while the Dr Abdus Salam award for applied sciences was conferred upon Dr Ataur Rahman. The Sir Syed award for humanitarianism went to Abdus Sattar Edhi and the Edhi Foundation.
“We made a conscious decision to award those people who are still alive so that the youth, who are the future of this country, can see that there are still many good reasons to stay in Pakistan and work towards its development,” said Engro vice-president communications Tahir Jawaid.
A total of 380 nominations were received for the awards and were presented before a jury, which was made up of luminaries from different professions. Former governor State Bank of Pakistan and dean of the Institute of Business Administration, Dr Ishrat Husain, was the chairman of the jury and was assisted by Sitara-e-Imtiaz winning literateur Iftikhar Hussain Arif, special adviser to United Nations secretary-general Dr Nafis Sadik, Sindh Educational Foundation chief executive Anita Ghulam Ali, HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry Professor Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary and Engro Corporation president Asad Umar.
“I am extremely delighted that Engro Corporation has taken this noble initiative to recognise the services of eminent Pakistanis,” said Dr Husain. “Only those nations who revere their meritorious citizens can succeed and prosper.”
The awards will feature as an annual event and will be categorised between five disciplines: art, literature, applied sciences, social sciences as well as public services and humanitarian. The humanitarian award will be announced every year but other categories will vary from year to year.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2011.
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