Lahore Press Club confers honorary membership on Naveed Rafaqat

The Lahore Press Club has conferred its Honorary Membership on Naveed Rafaqat, acknowledging his exceptional contributions to public-welfare governance and institutional reform.

The distinction—awarded only once every three years—follows a rigorous and multi-stage evaluation by a panel of nationally recognized experts in journalism and public policy, including senior journalists Hamid Mir, Mazhar Abbas, and media scholar Dr. Mehdi Hasan, who assessed nominees on the scale and social impact of their work.

Under Article II(c) of the Club’s constitution, honorary membership is reserved for “persons of distinguished merit” whose work advances public welfare, communication, or governance. The award is considered a mark of honour rather than entitlement, conferred solely at the discretion of the Governing Body.

According to the Club’s governing committee, Ahmad’s leadership in the Punjab Model Bazaars Management Company (PMBMC)—where he serves as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary with additional charge as Chief Executive Officer—demonstrated how public institutions can deliver essential goods below official price ceilings without government subsidies.

The Club cited his model as “a benchmark for fiscal discipline, public transparency, and community inclusion.”

Ahmad is also a published scholar with peer-reviewed papers in HEC Y-category international journals and serves as an evaluator for the Punjab Board of Technical Education, assessing commerce theses and professional certifications at the national level.

Press Club representatives said the award recognizes “leadership that merges integrity, innovation, and intellect”—qualities that define Naveed Rafaqat Ahmad’s expanding influence in Pakistan’s evolving governance landscape.