Private award body led by Usama Khan Warsi briefs Pakistan Air Force public relations office on its 23 years of tributes to the armed forces, including events marking Marka-e-Haq.
KARACHI: A delegation of the WIO Global Business Icon Award Academy, a Karachi-based private organisation that has staged tribute ceremonies for Pakistan’s armed forces since 2003, called on the Pakistan Air Force’s public relations office in Karachi, bringing together actors, a journalist and businesspeople in a show of civilian support for the military.
The delegation, led by WIO founding president Usama Khan Warsi, met Squadron Leader Rahat Wali, the PAF’s public relations officer in Karachi, and Wing Commander Aamer Shehzad at the PAF Media House, according to a statement issued by the organisation. The statement did not give the date of the visit.
Warsi briefed the officers on WIO’s activities since 2003, which it says include award ceremonies, commemorative events and patriotic programmes honouring the armed forces and, in particular, soldiers who lost their lives defending the country.
He highlighted two ceremonies organised around Marka-e-Haq and Bunyan-um-Marsoos, the names Pakistan gave to its May 2025 military confrontation with India and the retaliatory operation its forces launched, along with an event for Youm-e-Tashakkur, the national day of thanksgiving observed after the fighting. WIO has also held programmes on Defence Day and Independence Day, Warsi said.
The tributes come in a year in which the armed forces’ standing has been prominent in public life, from Air Force Day commemorations of the PAF’s 1965 air battles to a large Defence Day rally in Karachi in September.
The academy presents its own WIO Pride of Pakistan Award and WIO Tamgha-e-Fakhr-e-Pakistan medals to serving and retired officers. These are private recognitions conferred by the organisation, not state decorations, which in Pakistan are awarded by the President on the government’s recommendation.
According to WIO, past recipients include Air Marshal Arshad Malik of the PAF; Brigadier Muhammad Abuzar and Brigadier Umer Farooq, both former force commanders of the Anti-Narcotics Force in Sindh; Commodore Akbar Naqi, commandant of the Pakistan Marine Academy; Brigadier Dr Shamim Akhter; Brigadier (retd) Haris Nawaz, a former caretaker home minister of Sindh; Lieutenant Colonel Shakir Ullah Khan Marwat of ANF Sindh; Lieutenant Colonel Shahid Mudassar of the Frontier Corps’ Panjgur Rifles; Lieutenant Colonel Dr Ishrat Abuzar; Wing Commander Faisal Mumtaz Rao of the PAF; Major Abdul Razzaque Abro; and Captain Tarana Saleem, described by WIO as the first woman commercial pilot from the Sindh region.
Karachi’s private award circuit has grown in recent years, with other organisations, such as the club behind the Pakistan Excellence Awards, also honouring public figures in partnership with government departments.
Warsi presented a commemorative crest to Squadron Leader Wali for his professional services. Veteran journalist Khursheed Hyder presented publications, and veteran actress Ghazala Javed presented a copy of What It Means to Be a Baloch by Sadia Umrani.
Actors Shahzad Mallick and Syed Faisal Rafique, who is also a television producer and director, jointly presented a collection of hamd poetry by Hazrat Sajjad Sukhan, and entrepreneur Talha Khan presented a commemorative crest from FM Food. Actor Ayaz Khan was also part of the delegation.
The organisation said it would continue to promote patriotism, recognise national service and honour the sacrifices of martyrs and the contributions of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies, alongside leadership, philanthropy and civic engagement.
WIO described it as a courtesy visit held in a spirit of mutual respect and national pride.
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