President Asif Ali Zardari confers Dai Bingguo, State Councilor of China with Hilal-i-Pakistan at special investiture ceremony at the Presidency on Saturday. – Photo by APP

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari conferred Hilal-i-Pakistan award on Dai Bingguo, State Councillor of China, at a special investiture ceremony at the Presidency on Saturday.

The ceremony was attended among others by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Senate Chairman Farooq H Naik, Speaker of the National Assembly Fehmida Mirza, Azad Kashmir President Sardar Yaqub, federal ministers, Senators, Services Chiefs, members of the National Assembly, federal secretaries and other dignitaries.

The citation read on the occasion said that Mr Dai Bingguo is a member of CPC Central Committee since 1977 and State Councillor since March 2008.

It said Dai Bingguo “has contributed immensely to promote the cause of global peace, security and prosperity in the world. He has also made an outstanding contribution to Pak-China friendship and strategic cooperative partnership. Under his able and dynamic leadership the unique friendship that exists between Pakistan and China continues to touch new heights, blossom and prosper.”

In recognition of his meritorious services to the cause of Pak-China friendship, the president is pleased to confer Hilal-i- Pakistan on Dai Bingguo, the citation said.

Later the president also hosted a dinner in the honour of the Chinese State Councillor.

Opinion

Editorial

After the budget
Updated 26 Jun, 2026

After the budget

Though not a bad document per se, the budget for FY27 is a familiar one, and familiarity in our economic history is rarely cause for comfort.
Missing the mark
26 Jun, 2026

Missing the mark

PAKISTAN’S commitment to the SDGs is routinely reaffirmed, but the gap between promises and progress continues to...
Up in smoke
26 Jun, 2026

Up in smoke

PAKISTAN is watching an epidemic unfold as the menace of narcotic abuse hits every fourth household in Karachi ...
Reflection time
Updated 25 Jun, 2026

Reflection time

Israel is the biggest source of instability in the Middle East, and it is high time the US ended its blind support to Tel Aviv, if it genuinely wants peace in the region.
Raised temperatures
25 Jun, 2026

Raised temperatures

THE fraught situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir requires immense patience and cool heads. Temperatures are raised on...
Debatable remedy
25 Jun, 2026

Debatable remedy

THE Pakistan Psychiatric Society’s challenge to the Federal Shariat Court’s ruling on attempted suicide deserves...