Fulbright Program given Prince of Asturias Award

E-Paper | March 18, 2026

Clarification: An earlier version of this story stated that the award was given to Shehzad Hameed Ahmad. The error is regreted.

The Fulbright Program of the United States government was recently given the Prince of Asturias Award — Spain's equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Shehzad Hameed Ahmad, a Fulbrighter from Pakistan, received the award from Spain's King Felipe Juan on behalf of the Fulbright Global Program for International Cooperation.

Nelson Mandela, the revered icon of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, had also been a recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award in 1992.

Shehzad Hameed Ahmad (third from right) poses for a group photo during the Prince of Asturias Award ceremony in Oviedo, Spain. — Courtesy photo/Shehzad Hameed Ahmad

The Prince of Asturias Foundation has been convening the Prince of Asturias Awards since 1981. The awards are presented at an academic ceremony held each year in Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias.

The aim of the foundation is to consolidate the existing links between the Principality and the person who bears the title of Prince or Princess of Asturias — a title which corresponds to the heir to the Spanish throne — and to contribute to promoting the scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of mankind's universal heritage.

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S.M.Shabbir

Oct 28, 2014 03:57pm

Ganga Din : If you do not have guts to praise good work ,better remain silent .

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mba

Oct 28, 2014 04:16pm

Heartly congratulations. I hope to see the documnetary in short period.

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weq

Oct 28, 2014 04:22pm

Hameed attended New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, congratulations to the United States of America and NYU. Pakistan has nothing to do with this prize. Please nation stop bullying.

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Musa

Oct 28, 2014 04:57pm

Well done. A source of pride for the country

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Goga Nalaik

Oct 28, 2014 05:17pm

@Ganga Din You seem to have reached the age where things cannot be reversed... C'est la vie!

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Whatever

Oct 28, 2014 05:35pm

Congrats! But seriously, can Dawn get the names checked? What's "King of Spain Prince Philip"???? The King's name is Felipe and he is not a prince anymore

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Seedoo

Oct 28, 2014 06:20pm

Despite the negative conditions prevailing in the country, Pakistan keeps churning out brilliance. This is why I cannot seem to give up on my country. It must have a future. I just hope we have reached the bottom now and we are on our way out of the sink hole we find ourselves in.

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zafar

Oct 28, 2014 06:37pm

Congratulations

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Shaheen

Oct 28, 2014 06:46pm

Insult Pakistan and win awards - It's a trend. Why can't we win by promoting Pakistan rather than demoting her

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seemab

Oct 28, 2014 06:58pm

on what basis report is based of world economic forum? Women can drive in Pak..not in Saudia...Woman get Noble priz...they Scale K2...they get Highest seats in medical colleges... All movies showing negative image of Pakistan get prize...saving faces ..and now this...cant they project a image of real Pakistan....??

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N. Siddiqui

Oct 28, 2014 07:30pm

Yes this is very fashionable these days, project negative image of the country and win accolades and awards. Winning the award is an individual act and a single person benefits for obvious reasons, and the negativity it shrouds defame the whole nation. This is quite ironic, to be or not to be. How can a movie shown abroad about gender bias in Pakistan benefits the country, if the person really want to help in getting out of this issue he should work in Pakistan in ending the gender related issues.

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Rao Majid Saleem

Oct 28, 2014 07:34pm

simply they are projecting Pakistan , the way other wanted to see Pakistan.

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Azmeen

Oct 28, 2014 07:38pm

Congratulations on this great achievement. Keep it up.

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Muhammad

Oct 28, 2014 08:18pm

AOA, Where can I watch this movie, it is not on You tube, please let me know. Thanks.

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Aasia

Oct 28, 2014 08:25pm

Congratulations! Good work! One can not keep brushing it under the rug, negativity can be changed into positivity but there has to be an awareness of whats going on and that is what Shehzad Hameed is trying to do!

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Khalid

Oct 28, 2014 08:26pm

@Shaheen, When the mirror is shown, do not feel insulted, rather do something about the ugliness. thats what the documentry is about. not for insulting. Bigotry is so intense in pakistan that any kind of reformation seems like an insult to the masses.

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Obaid

Oct 28, 2014 08:34pm

@N. Siddiqui First step is accepting that you have a problem and bringing it in the spot light so it can be debated and maybe work towards a solution. This is not a negarive image, its the true image.

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Sana Batool

Oct 28, 2014 09:32pm

Ganga Din: Dont be jealous. We might be a small country but we have a bigger heart and brain.

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Waqar

Oct 28, 2014 09:37pm

I've met this guy across the table in an interview. I didn't know about him at that time.. Congratulations!

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Zafar

Oct 28, 2014 10:10pm

I can not think of a single field where Pakistani women have not excelled beyond imagination. The daughters of our nation are fighter pilots, commandos, top notch film makers, writers, engineers, world class neurosurgeons, squash players - you name it. They have broken the barriers in every walk of life and are trail blazers for many young girls around the world. True there are many milestones yet to be achieved to be achieved, but why ignore the world class accomplishments of Pakistani women. Yet Shezad Hameed portrays Pakistan as a backward country and cherry picks some reports and extrapolates whole another reality of Pakistan to appease the western masters and off course wins the "Highest" awards. He sold his soul and betrayed his nation - in my humble opinion.

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Anand Nirgun

Oct 28, 2014 10:47pm

Congrats Sir...it's really a pride moments for Pakistan ( respect from India)

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Shaif

Oct 28, 2014 11:07pm

Glad to see this lad succeed - he stayed with me for two weeks before finding a permanent place in NYC.

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Naeem Qureshi

Oct 28, 2014 11:53pm

Great news. Bravo. Heart warming. Pakistanis are excelling.

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Mazrat ke saath

Oct 28, 2014 11:56pm

@Shaheen The country owes you that as a citizen. It should give you reason to promote it.

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Raja Farhat Abbas

Oct 29, 2014 03:38am

Well done dude, you have done us proud.

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mohammadali

Oct 29, 2014 05:57am

Shalwar Kameez instead of Tuxedo would have made me more proud.

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tariq

Oct 29, 2014 07:06am

Most of the negative comments are from people who haven't seen the documentary. The trailer is slightly misleading when it shows the negative stats, as the documentary is all about how Pakistani women are exceling in many different fields. The following documentary ends up negating those stats.

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Moiz Omar

Oct 29, 2014 04:05pm

Congrats!!

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weq

Oct 29, 2014 05:58pm

@Musa Pride for the Country USA.

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