It is indeed an extremely sad day for us as one of our most beloved alumni and faculty members, Dr Amir Shariff from the Department of Surgery unexpectedly passed away earlier this morning from natural causes. Our heartfelt condolence goes out to all his loved ones at this devastating news.
Dr Shariff graduated from our MBBS programme in 2003, and subsequently trained at Yale University in the United States in both General and Minimally Invasive/Bariatric Surgery, where he excelled.
His passion for serving Pakistan and providing cutting edge superb surgical care for its people led him to return immediately after completing his training, joining his alma mater AKU in 2011 as an Assistant Professor in General Surgery. He set up a Bariatric programme at AKU and partnered with many other services to help advance minimally invasive surgery at AKU.
He quickly became one of the most cherished faculty in the Department and beyond, with his incredible skills, empathy, excellent patient care, and obvious love for trainees at all levels from the medical students to the residents. It came as no surprise when he was named Programme Director for General Surgery and he remained one of the most ardent advocates for all trainees.
Dr Shariff was an integral part of getting the surgery residency approved by the ACGMEi which was an incredible achievement. He was also a part of the Surgery Interest Group for medical students. Our students always sought him out for advice on their career as well as life issues.
Most of all, Amir was a dedicated family man and leaves behind his wife, Ayesha whom so many us know very well, two young children, parents and siblings. May Allah give them the strength to bear this huge loss.
Amir was a caring as well as brilliant faculty member and leaves us all much poorer with his untimely passing away. He also leaves us with a tremendous sense of loss as he was part of our own family, and we feel his loss as acutely as that. For those who require counselling services or assistance processing this tragedy, colleagues from our Psychiatry Department are available at all times; feel free to reach out to them. We will also extend all possible support to the family.
Details on his tadfeen and namaz-e- janaza will follow. The Department of Surgery will be making special arrangements for all those who may want to attend. Please pray for him and his family. May Allah grant him the highest place in Jannat.
Dr Saleem Islam Professor and Chair of Surgery
Dr Adil H. Haider Dean, Medical College
