Pakistan has been passing through a difficult phase since it was founded in 1947. Despite all the hardships and instability, our beautiful country has also seen some proud moments and some extraordinary personalities. Here is a list of those moments and personalities that have made us a proud Pakistani.
Dr. Abdus Salam-Pakistan’s First Nobel Laureate
Abdus Salam was a renowned scientist and the first Pakistani Nobel laureate. Although hailing from a modest background, he achieved many distinctions in the field of science. Salam’s notable achievements include the Pati–Salam model, magnetic photon, vector meson, Grand Unified Theory, work on supersymmetry and most importantly, electroweak theory, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Abdul-Sattar Edhi-A Great Philanthropist
Jinnah gave us Pakistan while Abdul Sattar Edhi gave our country its spirit. Edhi built a charity empire from scrap, Edhi foundation holds the world’s largest private ambulance service. He is recognized globally as one of the greatest philanthropists and received several international awards including Lenin and London Peace awards. He also received the country’s highest civilian decoration, Nishane Imtiaz, two times.
Jehangir Khan-World’s Best Squash Player
A man universally acknowledged as the world’s greatest squash player ever. During his eminent career, he won the World Open six times and the British Open a record ten times.
From 1981 to 1986, he was unbeaten, during that time he won 555 matches consecutively, the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sports as recorded by Guinness World Records.
Pakistan Wins World Cup 92
Cricket and Pakistan enjoy a perfect marriage. This nation loves no other sports as much as they adore cricket. In 1992, Pakistan team led by Imran Khan came home as the world champions, and most Pakistanis surely missed a heartbeat. Every member of the cricket team sweat for the triumph, but match-winning batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sultan of swing Wasim Akram and captain Imran Khan deserve special mention.
Malala Yousafzai-The Girl Terrorists Were Afraid Of
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Malala had been an advocate for girls’ education from her childhood, due to which was attacked by the Taliban but survived, the injury, however, changed her life completely. Now she advocates for women rightly and holds a symbolic value.
On July 12, 2013, at the age of just 16, Malala addressed the United Nations and later UN dubbed it as “Malala Day”. Soon, due to her studious efforts for and educational activism, she acquired an iconic status for Pakistan. The Times Magazine also featured Malala on her cover in 2013 and included her in the world’s most influential people’s list.
With her NGO, Malala Fund she is helping many girls to get education across the developing countries. She received the Sakharov Prize in 2013 and Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 among many other prizes and awards.
Arfa Karim-Youngest IT Specialist
Born in Faisalabad in 1995, Arfa Karim Randhawa became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at the age of 9. Her achievements and contributions to the Information Technology (IT) sector of the country are unforgettable. After she became a Microsoft Professional, Bill Gates himself invited Arfa to meet with him so she flew to Microsoft headquarters to meet Bill Gates.
Apart from being a Microsoft professional, at the age of 10, Arfa joined Dubai’s flying club and flew a plane. Sadly she passed away at a much young age due to an epileptic seizure in 2012. Now Arfa Karim Technology Park has been built in Lahore which stands in her memory.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan-The Man Who Swayed the West With his Melodies
A name that needs no introduction. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a singer considered among the greatest voices ever recorded. He gave his first performance at the age of 16 and went on to grab some prestigious awards like President of Pakistan’s Award for Pride of Performance in 1987 and the UNESCO Music Prize in 1995 and the Grand Prix des Amériques at World Film Festival in 1996.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is considered the Godfather of modern qawwali. He fused the western music with qawwali and gave it a new direction and was the first person to introduce qawwali to the West.
Nusrat collaborated with many western artists to produce his masterpieces which include Peter Gabriel, Jeff Buckley, and Eddie Vedder. He is also credited with introducing the Qawalli to the west. n August 2010, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was included in CNN’s list of the twenty most iconic musicians from the past fifty years.
Benazir Bhutto-First Woman PM of Muslim Country
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was the first elected female Prime Minister of any Muslim country, was an Oxford and Harvard graduate and had immense contributions for the democracy of Pakistan. She was the only politician of an international stature and recognition.
The courageous lady came back to Pakistan after self-exile and was assassinated in 2007 but her efforts to champion democracy remain a lasting legacy that is deeply respected even among her rivals.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy-Two Times Oscar Winner
She is the only Pakistani to win two Oscars for Best Documentary film. “Saving Face” was the first documentary from Sharmeen to win an Oscar. She grabbed the second Oscar on “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness”.
She used the power of the camera to highlight the social menaces that our country’s women are facing including acid-attacks and honor killing. She is also the recipient of Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian award of Pakistan.
Muneeba Mazari-An Extraordinary Social Activist
If you see her as a disabled person, think again because you are utterly wrong. Despite being in a wheelchair, Muniba Mazari, hailing from Rahim Yar Khan, is a social activist, a model, a motivational speaker, a philanthropist and a courageous lady fighting for women rights in Pakistan
She was included in BBC Top 100 list in 2016, while Forbes Magazine included her in “30 Under 30 list” for 2016. Muniba has also been honored at UN as Pakistan’s first female Goodwill Ambassador.
Ayesha Farooq-First Pakistani Female Fighter Pilot
Ayesha Farooq is not only Pakistan’s but South Asia’s first war-ready female fighter pilot and a role model for millions of women. Fighter pilots have tough routine and training, it’s one of the toughest jobs in the world, like playing a 3D chess game with one’s life and with the lives of team formation. Hats off to Pakistani females in defense forces who are walking shoulder to shoulder with men.
MM Alam-A Distinctive War Hero
MM Alam nicknamed as “Little Dragon” is one of the legends in World’s Airforces as his world record of shooting down five warplanes in 30 seconds remains unbeaten. There are certain landmarks across the country that are named after MM Alam and you must definitely feel a proud pakistani to have such war heroes in your Army.
Most A’s in O-Level and A-Level Exams By Haroon Tariq
A student of Froebel’s International School (FIS), Haroon Tariq’s achievement put Pakistan in the global spotlight by securing a total of 47 As in his International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) O Level and A Level exams from the University of Cambridge
Saad Ali-Pakistan’s Only Formula 1 Racer
Saad Ali, at the age of 28, became the first Pakistani to take part in formula one racing event. Ali went towards motorsport due to his passion about cars and driving but since there were no race tracks in Pakistan, he headed to Formula BMW Racing Center in Bahrain where he learned and excelled in the art of driving.
And after much struggle, he was selected for the Formula one event.
Samina Baig-Only Pakistani Woman to Summit Mount Everest
Hailing from the secluded village of Shimshal, she is only Pakistani woman to climb Mount Everest. Samina Baig also set the record of capturing the seven summits in record age of 23 years and record time and the first Pakistani woman to climb each of the highest mountains in the seven continents of the world. She is also the National Goodwill ambassador for Pakistan by UNDP.
She also showed off being a proud Pakistani by hoisting the country’s flag on every peak that she summited.
Ayub K. Ommaya-Pioneer in Neurosurgery
Ayub Khan Ommaya was an internationally known expert on brain injuries. He was responsible for many firsts in the field of neurosurgery but will be remembered the most for the invention of Ommaya reservoir, an instrument used for brain and spinal cord chemotherapy.
Mir Zafar Ali-Visual Effects Artist
Zafar Ali is a movie visual effects artist who has won three Academy Awards on his brilliant visual work in some of the most amazing movies. He has worked with quite a number of the most famous movies like Frozen, X-men, Mummy, Spiderman 3 and many more.
Shabnam Chaudhry-First Muslim Woman as Superintendent of Scotland Yard
She is the first ever Muslim and Asian Woman to be appointed Superintendent of the Scotland Yard. She also received the Outstanding Contribution Award when serving as a Detective Chief Inspector on the Metropolitan Police Service.
Namira Saleem-First Pakistani Astronaut
Namira is the first Pakistani to reach North Pole (in 2007) and South Pole (in 2008). She is also the first Asian and first Pakistani to skydive over Mount Everest in 2008. She is also the first Pakistani Astronaut and a recipient of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, conferred to her by the President of Pakistan in 2011.
Nargis Mavalvala-Renowned Astrophysicist
Born in Karachi, Nargis is now performing her duties as an astrophysicist and a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Nargis was among the team of eagle-eyed scientists who, for the first time, observed ripples in the fabric of space and time called gravitational waves. She has also been awarded “Great Immigrants” award in the US.
Mahbub ul Haq
He was the pioneer in creating the concept of human development. He also provided the world with a statistical measure to quantify the indicators of economic growth with the human development known as HDI which has become one of the most influential and widely used indices to measure human development across countries. The HDI has been used since 1990 by the UNDP for its annual Human Development Reports.
The Moment Pakistan Became a Nuclear Power
Pakistan conducted a series of nuclear tests on 28 May 1998 at the Chaagi test site, Balochistan, including us in the league of countries who are nuclear power states. This glorious day is known as Youm E Taqbeer and provides the nation with much-needed safety and Peace.
Pakistani Special Olympians Bag 34 medals
Unfortunately, we never focused on the development of special children in the country. Besides limited to no resources at all, in 2015, Pakistan’s Special Olympic team made us proud by finishing with an impressive tally of 34 medals — 13 gold, 11 silver, 10 bronze.
Asian Snooker Title Comes Home After 17 Years
In 2015, it was a proud moment when Pakistan’s Hamza Akbar beat Pankaj Advani from India after a breathtaking competition of 7-6 to win the Asian Snooker Championship after a gap of 17 years.
Pakistan Army Wins Cambrian Patrol Test
It is considered as one of the toughest patrolling tests for army personnel and no force from any other country has snatched this honor for Pak Army yet. This proud moment has come to Pakistan four times. Up to 140 countries participate in the event. The tests are over two days with no sleep or rest.
Tests include Firing of personal weapons, Obstacle crossing, First Aid and Casualty Evacuation, Artillery target indication, Patrol Techniques, Helicopter drills, Communications skills, Handling prisoners of war, Tactical River/Stream crossing, Ambush/Anti Ambush Drills, Recce Techniques, Tunnel Crossing, Navigation Skills and Rock climbing.
Pakistan Hockey Team Wins 4 World Cups
Hockey is the national game of Pakistan and truly so as Team Pakistan is the most successful team in the game, making us proud by winning the World Cup four times. Sohail Abbas holds the record of Highest goals scorer with 348 goals.
He has scored one double hat trick and 21 hat tricks in international hockey; a record unmatched in international field hockey. Also, who doesn’t know the players like Hassan Sardar, Shahnaz Sheikh, and Shahbaz Senior.
NUST Included in Top 100 Universities
Pakistan is still striving to improve its education structure in the country but it was a proud moment for us when NUST was ranked among the top 100 universities of the world in 2011 and still retains its position.
Pakistani Musician Bags Silver Medal at Global Music Awards
Sharif Awan, a renowned musician of classical and folk genre has made our nation proud by winning a Silver Medal at the Global Music Awards (GMA) on his project Indus Raag.
Shaheer Niazi-Pakistan’s Youngest Scientist
The high school student from Pakistan’s city of Lahore is our youngest scientist, he managed to photograph the movement of ions that form the honeycomb besides recording the heat found on the surface of oil in an electric field. No one has done this before creating a proud moment in the history of Pakistan. Shaheer is determined to bring another Nobel prize to Pakistan, May God bless the teen.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz-A Revolutionary Poet
A Pakistani poet and author, and one of the most celebrated writers of the Urdu language. Among other accolades, Faiz was nominated for Nobel Prize in Literature and won the Lenin Peace Prize. Faiz is also the recipient of Nishan e Imtiaz. Faiz was a revolutionist poet and his works involved in social issues, poverty eradication, and socialism. Faiz works got international acclaim especially, in India and Russia.
