Sitara e Imtiaz for Qari Buzurg Shah

Irshadullah Khan

ISLAMABAD: Renowned religious scholar from Chitral Qari Buzurg Shah Al-Azhari has been conferred with  Sitara e Imtiaz award by the government of Pakistan.

Sitara e Imtiaz is the third highest civilian award by the state of Pakistan. He received the award at an investiture by President Asif Ali Zardari on Pakistan Day in Islamabad on Saturday. Qari Buzurg Shah had already been confirmed upon the Pride of Performance Award.

Qari Buzurg Shah al-Azhari’s name was included in the category of religious scholars. He was born in 1949 and raised in Ovir, Upper Chitral. He is a graduate of Jamia Ashrafia Lahore and al-Azhar University of Egypt. 

He is the first Chitrali to translate the Holy Quran into Khowar language. He is fluent in Arabic, Persian, English, Urdu, Pushto, Punjabi and Khowar. 

Author of 20 books, Buzurg Shah has remained the official Qari of the government for 30 years. He is a travel enthusiast and has travelled the whole world except Australia. He writes poetry in Persian, Urdu and Khowar.