ISLAMABAD: Breaking with tradition, the federal government this year surprisingly has not announced the names of the civil award recipients in recognition of gallantry and for outstanding achievements in the fields of arts, literature, science, sports and nursing.

The announcement is generally made on the eve of Independence Day and the awards are conferred by the president on March 23.

When contacted, a member of the official committee responsible for approving the list of nominees said that they had completed their job and the list had been forwarded to the ministry concerned. He expressed surprise over non-issuance of the list.

Similarly, an official of the Press Information Depahment which provides the list of the nominees for the civil awards to the media told Dawn that they had themselves tried to approach the Cabinet Division after they did not receive the list on the night of Aug 13. He said they also tried to contact the people concerned, but got no response.

These awards are defined in Anicle 259(2) of the Constitution with the final approval of the country`s president.

Despite repeated attempts, no-one from the Cabinet Division could be contacted for comment.

An attempt was also made to contact Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, but she too did not respond till filing of this repon.