ISLAMABAD, May 19 President Asif Ali Zardari has conferred Hilal-i-Shujaat on veteran politician and former federal and provincial minister from NWFP Muhammad Afzal Khan Lala in recognition of the great courage and steadfastness demonstrated by him in the war against militants in Swat region.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, spokesperson for the president Farhatullah Babar said that the president had ordered immediate conferment of the award relaxing the rules, which require announcement of the award on August 14 and the investiture on March 23 each year. A special ceremony will now be held soon to confer the award on Afzal Khan Lala without waiting for March 23, he said

About two months ago the Frontier Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution urging the president to immediately confer Hilal-i-Shujaat on the respected Pakhtun leader for showing courage in fighting against militancy.

Afzal Khan Lala belongs to village Drush Khela in Swat. When the victims of militants' brutalities were streaming out of Swat for safety, the 78-year-old Afzal Khan stood up against the militants and refused to abandon his ancestral home for fear of life.