Pakistan's High Commissioner to United Kingdom (UK) Dr Maleeha Lodhi has conferred Sitara-i- Imtiaz on Professor Christopher Shackle and Sitara-i- Quaid-i-Azam on Professor Peter Switin Meadows, the two British professors on behalf of President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf in recognition to their services for Pakistan. Maleeha conferred these awards on two British professors at a reception she hosted here late on Wednesday to celebrate 65th anniversary of Pakistan Day resolution, which was passed in Lahore on March 23, 1940 with a determination to carve out a separate homeland for Muslims of the Sub-continent.
The reception was attended by a large number of British Pakistanis, community leaders, diplomats, politicians, professionals in various walks of life, and others.
Professor Shackle got the award in recognition to his services for promoting Pakistani language and literature while Peter Switin Meadows was honoured for his services in teaching oceanography and related subjects. The national anthem was played on the occasion. Paying her tributes to Professor Christopher Shackle, Dr Maleeha said after studying Persian and Turkish, he learnt language of the subcontinent.
He translated the works of Pakistan's classical writers into English and has written extensively on the history of Punjabi, Seraiki, Sindhi, and Urdu languages, and on comparative literature of the Islamic world and Sufism. She said Shackle's contribution to Pakistani literature and the academic world has enlarged the dialogue on the diversity of world cultures, and appreciation of Pakistan as a land of diverse cultures with deep roots in the history of mankind.
Eulogising the services of Peter Switin Meadows, she said in the 1980s, he conducted extensive work on the coastal zone of Pakistan in collaboration with the National Institute of Oceanography Karachi.
These scientific works focused on the coastal zone, the Indus River, its past and its present people and its environments including the Hindu Kush. She said he and his 30 postgraduate students have published 160 publications and four books. Professor Meadows has also participated in and organised a number of international oceanographic research cruises including work in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. Professor Meadows and his wife Dr Azra Meadows, she said, had distinguished long term commitment to people and culture of Pakistan.
In the United Kingdom, they have been also involved in a number of community-oriented projects involving ethnic minorities. "In recognition to his outstanding contribution to the fields of Environment and Life Sciences and commitment to community works for ethnic minorities of the United Kingdom, the President Musharraf "has been pleased to confer on Professor Peter Switin Meadows the award of Sitara-i-Quaid-e-Azam," she said.
In his brief remarks Professor Christopher Shackle said his work would have succeeded in realising its objectives if it helped further strengthen cultural and historical links between Pakistan and Britain. He said he learnt Urdu from Lahore and Seraki in Multan. He thanked President General Pervez Musharraf and the Government of Pakistan for bestowing this honour on him.
Professor Peter Switin Meadows speaking on the occasion said it was indeed a great honour to have received Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam and thanked President Musharraf and the Government of Pakistan. He said Pakistan was a beautiful country with wonderful cities and mountains and urged the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to revise its travel advice for Pakistan, which would promote its tourism.
Pakistan is situated at a very important geo-political location and would play a key role in that region. Drawing a difference between a developed Britain and developing Pakistan, he said the UK per capita income was dollars 25,000 per year while it was dollars 420 in case of Pakistan. 60 per cent of Pakistan's population still lived in rural areas while this ratio is 10 per cent in the UK.