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Rotary Club of Karachi honours Shamsh Kassim-Lakha by conferring
an award. Presented by Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Minister for Finance,
Planning and Development, Government of Sindh, this award recognises
Kassim-Lakha's exceptional achievement and contribution in the field
of health and education.
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| Abdul
Hafeez Sheikh, Minister for Finance, Planning and Development,
Government of Sindh, presents an award to Shamsh Kassim-Lakha,
President AKU. |
Shamsh Kassim-Lakha is the President and founding Trustee
of Aga Khan University (AKU). AKU is a component of Aga Khan Development
Network (AKDN), which comprises a group of agencies, founded by
His Highness the Aga Khan, that work in developing countries of
Asia and Africa, focusing on health, education, rural and economic
development and the enhancement of non-governmental organisations.
Chartered in 1983 as Pakistan's first private international university,
AKU commenced operations with a US $300 million academic Health
Services Centre, whose Faculty of Health Sciences comprises a Medical
College, a School of Nursing and a teaching hospital. Today, the
University also has an Institute for Educational Development in
Karachi and an Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in
London, England. An international institution, AKU has seven teaching
sites in five countries on three continents.
Kassim-Lakha
has served on the boards of several governmental, professional,
research and private organisations, including the Pakistan Medical
Research Council, Habib Bank Limited, Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy,
whose Board he chairs, and numerous senior governmental advisory
panels in areas of finance, energy, environmental protection, health
and education. In March 2002, President Pervez Musharraf appointed
him Chairman of the Steering Committee on Higher Education with
the status of Minister of State, to oversee reforms in Pakistan's
higher education. Educated at South Bank and Westminster Universities
in London and the University of Minnesota, USA, Kassim-Lakha is
the recipient of several awards. In recognition of his leadership
and extensive contribution towards the cause of education and health
in Pakistan and the developing world generally, he has received
both national and international awards, including the degree of
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa from McMaster University of
Canada (1984), the Sitara-i-Imtiaz from the government of
Pakistan (1999), the award of Officer in the French National Order
of Merit from President Jacques Chirac of France (2001), and in
August this year the award of Hilal-i-Imtiaz for public services
from the President of Pakistan.
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