Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images] on Monday conferred his country's top military award -- the Nishan-i-Imtiaz -- on General Qiao Qingchen, Commander of People's Liberation Army of China.

The award has been given to General Qiao Qingchen in recognition to his consistent and valuable contributions for promoting relations and understanding between the Air Force of the two countries, an official announcement in Islamabad said.

Gen Qingchen, a reputed military commander and distinguished aviator, has remained the guiding force behind meaningful cooperation and enhanced relations between the Pakistan and Chinese Air Forces, it said.

Earlier, Gen Qingchen called on Musharraf and discussed the 'extremely close and fraternal' relations between China and Pakistan. The Air Forces of Pakistan and China are currently developing JF-Thunder, a next-generation fighter aircraft.