LAHORE, May 29: The President of France has awarded the prestigious award of Ordre National Du Merite to Mrs Amna Imran Khan, deputy secretary in the Interior Ministry, as Knight, says an announcement on Tuesday.

Mrs Khan is a District Management Group officer and has been given the award in recognition of her outstanding performance, commitment and dedication towards enhancing cooperation in the field of law enforcement with special focus between the police forces of France and Pakistan, says the announcement.

According to Wikipedia, a web-based encyclopedia, the Ordre National du Mérite (The National Order of Merit) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on December 3, 1963, by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason of the Order’s establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ministerial Orders previously awarded by the ministries; and to create an award that can be awarded more liberally than the prestigious Légion d’honneur.

The Order can be awarded to French nationals, men and women, for distinguished civil and military achievements, though of a lesser level than that required for the conferment of the Légion d’honneur. Foreigners are not admitted into the Order as such, but may receive the insignia of the Order as a mark of respect. The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order, by convention, on the advice of the government. The Order has a common Chancellor and Chancery with the Légion d’honneur. Every Prime Minister of France is made a grand cross of the order after six months of service.