President confers Pakistan’s highest civilian award upon king of Jordan

President Asif Ali Zardari conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan, the highest civilian award of Pakistan, upon King Abdullah II of Jordan following a meeting in Islamabad.

During the investiture ceremony attended by bigwigs, the Jordanian king also conferred on President Asif Ali Zardari the Wisam al-Nahdah al-Mursa’ (Bejewelled Grand Cordon of the Order of the Renaissance), a high-level decoration conferred by the king of Jordan to heads of state and distinguished dignitaries. The award is part of the Jordanian ‘Order of the Renaissance’ honours system.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, cabinet ministers and members of the diplomatic corps.

Prior to the ceremony, a meeting was held between President Zardari and King Abdullah, wherein both the dignitaries emphasised the need to build on the strength of their bilateral relations and to encourage greater people-to-people contact between the two countries.

King Abdullah II of Jordan visits Pakistan’s defence conglomerate, field firing ranges

King Abdullah, who is on a state visit to Pakistan, was warmly received by the president at the Awan-e-Sadr.

The two leaders reaffirmed the longstanding and fraternal ties between Pakistan and Jordan and discussed the full range of bilateral relations.

They also reviewed regional and international developments of mutual concern, with particular focus on peace, stability and security in the Middle East.

Both sides underlined the importance of working together in multilateral forums and promoting humanitarian and development cooperation.

On Palestine, the president and the Jordanian King noted the convergence of views and reiterated their shared principled position on post-war Gaza. They rejected any displacement of Palestinians and emphasised the need for a two-state solution.

They called for the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous State of Palestine on pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

King Abdullah II expressed pride in the deep-rooted ties between Jordan and Pakistan, reaffirming Jordan’s keenness to expand cooperation across various sectors.

Both leaders expressed confidence in the future direction of Pakistan-Jordan relations and agreed to maintain close coordination on bilateral, regional and global issues.

The Jordanian King was accompanied by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, Chief Advisor for Religious and Cultural Affairs and Personal Envoy, Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and Major General Yousef Huneiti, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

First Lady Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Chairman PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Senator Sherry Rehman were also present on the occasion.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Musadik Malik and others.

Pakistan will respond firmly to any aggression, says field marshal

Addressing the investiture ceremony, Field Marshal Asim Munir reaffirmed that Pakistan would respond to any act of aggression in the same manner it did in May, stating that victory against India had come “with the help of Allah.”

“Pakistan is a peace-loving nation, but those who impose war on us will be answered accordingly,” the field marshal said, Aaj News reported.

Citing Quranic verses, he drew parallels with historic Islamic battles, noting that just as dust blinded the enemies during earlier struggles, Pakistan’s soldiers fought with the same resolve.