Pakistan’s renowned journalist, author, former bureaucrat and Pakistan Observer editor-in-chief Zahid Malik was conferred with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz Award posthumously on Saturday.
President Asif Zardari presented the second-highest civilian award at the presidency. Ms Rehana Zahid Malik, the wife of the late journalist received the award on his behalf.
The government of Pakistan conferred him with the prestigious award for his ever-lasting services for the nation.
Malik, a journalist par excellence, exemplified the highest standards of journalistic integrity. He fearlessly uncovered the truth and gave voice to the voiceless in the South Asian nation. The late journalist’s life served as a beacon of hope.
Besides his services in journalism, he authored dozens books and over 2,000 articles and opinions. Mr Malik received Writers Guild of Pakistan First Prize for his book ‘Public Relations’, first published in Urdu in 1971. ‘Mazameen-i-Quran-i-Hakeem,’ an 800-page subject-wise classification of verses of the Holy Quran, is one of Mr Malik’s works. The collection was translated into English, French, and German.
He was earlier conferred with Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2011, for his contributions towards journalism, the promotion of the ideology of Pakistan and writings about Islam. The former patron-in-chief of the Nazaria-e-Pakistan Council, chairman of the International Seerat Centre and the Foundation for Coexistence of Civilizations, was also the founder-chairman of the think tank ‘101 Friends of China.
Islamabad’s F-10 Road named after Pakistan Observer founder Zahid Malik
