ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday conferred the country’s highest civil award, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, on the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The prestigious award was conferred at a special investiture ceremony held in Islamabad.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, along with federal ministers, senior military officers, and government officials.
President @AAliZardari has conferred Pakistan’s highest civil award, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, on the President of Kazakhstan#RadioPakistan #News https://t.co/uu5X74ZZco pic.twitter.com/VbY099BBvj
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) February 4, 2026
The Nishan-e-Pakistan is Pakistan’s highest civilian award, bestowed in recognition of extraordinary and distinguished service to the state.
The award is typically conferred upon heads of state, foreign dignitaries, or individuals of exceptional merit who have made outstanding contributions to Pakistan, particularly in strengthening diplomatic relations, promoting peace, or enhancing Pakistan’s international standing.
Meanwhile, President Zardari also held delegation-level talks with the Kazakh President, during which both sides agreed to boost trade, economic, and defence cooperation.
Earlier, Pakistan and Kazakhstan took a major step to strengthen their bilateral relationship, signing 36 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) across a wide range of sectors at a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.
The event took place during the first official visit by a Kazakh president to Pakistan in 23 years, underlining a renewed push for deeper cooperation between the two nations.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev jointly presided over the signing ceremony, which followed delegation-level talks focusing on expanding economic, trade, and strategic ties.
Addressing the joint press conference, Prime Minister Sharif set an ambitious target to increase bilateral trade with Kazakhstan from $250 million to $1 billion in the near future.
According to the Prime Minister, the existing trade levels did not reflect the true picture and potential of the partnership.
He assured the visiting delegation that Pakistan was committed to speeding up the implementation of the new agreements and welcomed Kazakhstan’s enhanced engagement across economic and cultural domains.
