Questions (and Answers) on Pakistani Orders, Decorations, and Medals

[Ed_Haynes]

Following on Lukasz's thread (where questions remain), as I continue my work on Pakistani awards, I have a number of questions (and suspect I shall have more).

A appreciate any help people can give. I have sent requests to the local Pakistani Embassy and to a number of individuals in Islamabad and, with a single exception, these have been answered by silence. And he just directed me to Wikipedia (which, of course, is always a dangerous and unreliable source).

I know that many of my questions will never find answers unless I can lay hands on a complete run of the Gazette of Pakistan, and I do not believe such a thing exists.

I'll add a few questions and keep adding. I hope you can help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ed_Haynes]

Question 1 - Tamgha-i-Jur’at ribbon

Presenting all the inherent problems of an unbalanced ribbon, the ribbon of the Tamgha-i-Jur’at is shown some ways in some sources and reversed in others. The official military website is notoriously unreliable, as it has the rinbnon for the 1971 war medal wrong.

Let me guess (I have a 50% chance of being right) and describe the ribbon as "32 mm equal stripes of red (to wearer’s right) and green, edged on both sides with 3-mm white stripes." With the red then the green (reading left to right). Am I wrong?

 

[Ed_Haynes]

Question 2 - Number of Gallantry Awards

Does anyone have access to reliable (RELIABLE!) numbers of the awards of the Hilal-i-Jur’at, Sitara-i-Jur’at, and Tamgha-i-Jur’at, broken down by campaign and branch of service?

Some books (for example, Hussain & Qureshi on the Air Force or Rahman on the Piffers) have some numbers, but these don't tell us anything beyond their narrow focus. I know I could get these if I could find copies of the Gazette of Pakistan and go through issue by issue, but no such luck.

 

[Ed_Haynes]

Question 3 - Ribbons for the Sitara-i-Basalat and Tamgha-i-Basalat

This is another area where sources, especially quasi-official ones like governmental websites, are very confused and confusing. Admittedly, disentangling these closely linked awards isn't easy. I have been seeking clear photos of some high-rankers with known career histopries weraring these, but have come up empty.

I believe (to simplify) that the Sitara-i-Basalat has a dark blue central stripe while the Tamgha-i-Basalat has a light blue central stripe. Am I wrong?

I'd add an image if I could. It would make things easier.

 

[Ed_Haynes]

Question 4 - Police Awards

I know the police aren't military (though in Pakistan as in many other countries they often behave as if they are), but I thought I'd try.

The inherited pattern:
King's / Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry
Indian Police Medal for Gallantry
King's / Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service
Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service

I believe this system was carried over with modest modifications to the ribbons and significant modifications to the medals.

However, I have references to:

Quaid-i-Azam Police Medal for Gallantry - ribbon three withe stripes, two dark blue stripes, with narrow green stripes down the centers of each white stripe.

President’s Police Medal for Gallantry (same as above?)

Quaid-i-Azam Police Medal for Distinguished Service - ribbon three withe stripes, two dark blue stripes, with a single narrow green stripes down the centeral white stripe.

President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service (same as above?)

Pakistan Police Medal for Gallantry - ribbon is hard to describe, would be easy to show - try: 32 mm, five (essentially) equal stripes on each side of (reading inward) white, blue, white, blue, and amaranth, with a thin 1.5-mm green center stripe.

Pakistan Police Medal for Meritorious Service - ribbon 32 mm, six (essentially) equal stripes of white, blue, amaranth, 1.5-mm green, amaranth, blue, white - similar to the gallantry medal, but with fewer edge stripes.

Help?!

(Lukasz and I have an ongoing argument over these, but sources are scarce. And news reports are not always reliable or unconfused.)

 

[Ed_Haynes]

Question 5 - Pakistani Awards for Gulf War II

I do not believe Pakistan awarded any clasps to the Tamgha-i-Diffa or separate campaign medals for the Pakistani role in Gulf War II (the liberation of Kuwait, 1990-91). Am I correct?

Were Pakistani troops allowed to accept and wear the Saudi Arabian or Kuwaiti (or other) medals for that war?

 

[Ed_Haynes]

Question 6 - Who got the Sitara-e-Eissar and Tamgha-i-Eissar?

Were these awards for relief operations in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake awarded to Pakistanis or only to foreigners? The legends, after all, are only in English.

 

[Ed_Haynes]

Question 7 - Azad Kashmir Awards

I know that Azad Kashmir has (had?) a set of awards paralling the Nishan-i-Haider, Hilal-i-Jur’at, Sitara-i-Jur’at, and Tamgha-i-Jur’at.

Does anyone have the names, descriptions, and numbers awarded (maybe even the names of the recipients).

I believe that the Hilal-i-Kashmir (= Nishan-i-Haider) has been awarded only once, Naik Saif Ali Khan, Azad Kashmir Regiment, but that the government has now deemed this to be an award of the Nishan-i-Haider. This seems to suggest that the Azad Kashmir awards have been mergend with the mainstream Pakistani awards?

 

[Ed_Haynes]

Enough for now? More than enough? I really don't want to innundate you, but these are among the questions that have been nagging me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lukasz G]

I am truly indebted to Ed Haynes for clear formulating these questions - I would not express them any better myself.

Please let me add a few more questions to this list:

1) Are police medals medals now struck in silver or bronze? Photos show both and it is difficult to determine the period. Do you know the year the the particular medals were established?

2) Is this true that the Order of Pakistan, Order of Quaid-e-Azam and Order of Khidmat (civilian) since 1986 can be awarded to foreign nationals only? Have you heard of any Pakistani citizen who was awarded with any class of the above after 1986?

3) Do you have any information of what the President's Award for Pride of Performance looked like before 1983?

Ed and I will owe you a lot for any kind of information. Every smallest piece will be helpful.

Best regards,
Lukasz