A meeting of the selection committee for the Presidential Iqbal Award was held on Wednesday, June 29, at the Committee Room, National Heritage and Culture Division, Islamabad. The meeting was chaired by Senator Irfan Siddiqui as Chairman Selection Committee. It is pertinent to mention that His Excellency the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has appointed Senator Irfan Siddiqui as the Chairman of the Presidential Iqbal Award Selection Committee in his capacity as Minister in Charge.
The meeting was attended by Joint Secretary National Heritage and Culture Division Sajjad Ahmed, Chairman Academy of Letters Pakistan Dr. Muhammad Yousuf Khushk, Director General Islamic Research Institute Dr. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Prof. Dr. Shahid Iqbal Kamran and Dr. Humaira Shahbaz. Director Iqbal Academy Pakistan and convener Iqbal Award Professor Dr. Baseera Ambreen welcomed the distinguished participants. The meeting started with recitation of Holy Quran. Prof. Dr. Baseera Ambreen gave a brief introduction of Iqbal Award with the permission of the President and started the proceedings of the meeting as per the schedule. In the meeting, the selection committee decided to give Presidential Iqbal Award to the best books for National Presidential Iqbal Award (English) for the year 2015-20, National Presidential Iqbal Award (Pakistani Languages) for the year 2015-20 and National Presidential Iqbal Award (Urdu) for the year 2020. Matter will be presented to the Hon'ble President of Pakistan for final endorsement. The selection committee directed the director Iqbal Academy to prepare a plan of action for the International Iqbal Award. At the end of the meeting, Director Iqbal Academy presented the set of books included in the competition to the esteemed members of the committee.