LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday conferred CM Merit Badges on Special Assistant Shoaib Mirza and Lahore Deputy Commissioner Captain (retd) Muhammad Ali Ejaz, recognising field work carried out during two separate emergencies in and around the provincial capital.
According to an official statement, the Chief Minister personally pinned the badges on both officials at a ceremony.
Special Assistant Shoaib Mirza supervised rescue and relief operations for seven days after water suddenly inundated villages in Muridke and Ferozewala, the statement said. He remained present in all affected villages of the two tehsils throughout the operation.
Under his supervision, hundreds of flood-affected residents were rescued and shifted to safer locations. He also played a key role in arranging accommodation, food, medicines and other essential facilities for displaced families — the logistical half of disaster response that typically determines whether an evacuation holds or collapses within days.
Deputy Commissioner Captain (retd) Muhammad Ali Ejaz reached Harbanspura immediately after a roof collapsed there and remained at the site continuously for 16 hours. His efforts made it possible to save five lives in the Harbanspura tragedy, according to the statement.
Sustained on-site presence by a district’s senior-most administrative officer is unusual in collapse incidents, where command frequently shifts to rescue services within the first hours. The 16-hour figure suggests the deputy commissioner remained through the full search phase.
The Chief Minister appreciated and commended both officials for their dedicated services and urged them to continue working with the same spirit of public service.
“Those who sacrifice their comfort and peace for serving the people are the real heroes. Standing by the people and remaining with them through their joys and sorrows is truly commendable,” she said.
She directed officers not to remain confined to their offices when people face difficulties, but to stand by them and share their problems.
“I am happy that my team has people like Shoaib Mirza and Ali Ejaz,” the Chief Minister added.
The CM Merit Badge functions as a visible, non-monetary recognition mechanism within Punjab’s administrative service, where career incentives have traditionally rewarded procedural compliance over field presence. By tying the award explicitly to hours spent at disaster sites rather than to reports filed afterwards, the provincial government is signalling the behaviour it intends to reward.
The two incidents recognised on Tuesday — riverine flooding around Muridke and Ferozewala, and a structural collapse in an older Lahore neighbourhood — represent the two most common categories of civil emergency the Punjab administration handles during and immediately after the monsoon season.
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