ISLAMABAD: Renowned poet Iftikhar Arif has been nominated for the prestigious Kamal-i-Fun Award for 2023, Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) Chairperson Dr Najeeba Arif said on Thursday.

Kamal-i-Fun Award is the highest literary award in the field of literature for recognition of lifetime achievements in creative and research work.

The amount of the award is Rs1 million, which will be given to the winner.

Other winners of the National Literary Award 2023 under different categories will get Rs200,000 each. The cumulative amount for these awards is Rs5.2 million.

The panel of judges consisted of known writers and scholars Dr InamulHaq Javid, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Parveen Malik, Madad Ali Sindhi, Anwer Sen Roy, Dr Rauf Parekh, Dr Abaseen Yousafzai, Neelofar Iqbal, Hassam Hur, Hafeez Khan, Dr Safeer Awan, Dr Wahid Bukhsh Buzdar, Abdul Qayooum Bedar, Dr Nasir Abbas Nayyar, and Dr Baseera Anbreen. They met at PAL on Thursday under the chairmanship of Madad Ali Sindhi and finalised nominations.

PAL Chairperson Najeeba Arif, in a press conference, announced the National Literary Awards for the year 2023, awarded for the best books written during 2023 in Urdu and other regionallanguages.

According to the decision of the panel, for Urdu prose (Creative Literature) Saadat Hasan Manto Award is given to Tahira Iqbal on her Book `Harappa` and for Urdu prose (Criticism and Research), Baba-i-Urdu Molvi Abdul Haq Award is given to Dr Amjad Tufail and Farrukh Yaar for their books `Hamasar Urdu Afsana` and `Ishq Nama`.

For Urdu poetry, Dr AllamaMuhammad Iqbal Award was given to Ghulam Hussain Sajid for his book `Tajawuz`, and Syed Waris Shah Award for Punjabi poetry was given to Qabil Jafferi for his book `Uppar`.

Afzal Ahsan Randhawa Award was given to Naseer Ahmad for his `Kih Paatar Da Jeevna` book in Punjabi prose. For Sindhi poetry, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Award was given to Abrar Abro for writing `Akhun Khe Pandh Karno Aa`, and for Sindhi prose, Mirza Qaleech Baig Award was given to Dr Mushtaq Bagani for his book `Nagar Thate Jo Samaj`.

For Pushto poetry, Khushal Khan Khattak Award was given to M.R Shafaq on his book `Gul Rang`, and for Pushto prose, Muhammad Ajmal Khan Khattak Award was given to Abdul Karim Baryale on his book `Da Kulyato Da Matan Inteqadi Serena`.

Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi Award was given to Prof. Dr Muhammad Yousuf on his book `Balochi a Brahui Zubanani Siali` for Balochi prose and in the poetry category, Mast Tawakli Award was given to Wahab Shohaz on his book `Charagan Dam Na Burtag`.For Seraiki poetry, Khwaja Ghulam Fareed Award was given to Aziz Shahid on his book `Chaak` and for Seraiki prose, Dr Maher Abdul Haq Award was given to Riffat Abbas on his book `Neelyan Silhan Pichhoon`.

For Brahui poetry, Taj Muhammad Tajal Award was given to Babal Noor on his book `Chankas Astar`, and for Brahui prose, Ghulam Nabi Rahi Award was given to Imran Rafique on his book `Adabi The ory o Brahui Adab`.

For Hindko poetry, Saeen Ahmad Ali Award was given to Dr Khawar Chaudhri on his book `Bujhna Deewa`, and the Khatir Ghaznavi Award for best prose was given to Akhtar Naeem on her book `Qustantunia, Angoora, Samrna`.

For English Prose Pitras Bukhari Award was given to M. Athar Tahir for his book `Second Coming`. In the category of English poetry, Daud Kamal Award was given to Ejaz Rahim for `Beyond Dates and Pomegranates` book. For translation, Muhammad Hasan Askari Award was given to Shaukat Nawaz Niazi for his book `Jalawatni Aur Saltanat`.