Skip to main content

Story of Agha Hasan Abedi & BCCI

Agha Hasan Abedi: the man who dared to dream BIG!



Agha Hasan Abedi was one of the finest minds this country has ever produced. He was an exemplary patriot and a legendary banker.


In the mess that exists today, the youth of Pakistan desperately needs inspiring personalities to look up to.

I cannot think of a better person to quote.

He proved that politics is not the only form of service to the nation. He suffered through various scandals towards the end of his life, but no one can deny his contributions towards building a stronger Pakistan. It is a shame we let our youth forget a man like Agha Hasan Abedi.

 Thousands graduate every year from FAST National University and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute. Only a handful of those proud degree holders know who laid the foundations of these prestigious institutes. It was one man’s vision that delivered tremendously to Pakistan’s development.

*A true patriot:

Agha started his banking career at Habib Bank in the late 1940s and enjoyed instant promotions. He went on to join the United Bank Ltd (UBL) in 1959 and shot up the ranks again. Under his leadership, UBL changed the banking culture in Pakistan and it became the second largest bank in the country. But this is just a small highlight of his résumé.

When banks in Pakistan were nationalised in 1972, Agha went on to start the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). He persuaded the Arabs to invest in it, which turned into one of the largest banks in the world, spreading its influence through offices in 72 countries around the world. It employed some 16, 000 people and Agha made sure that a majority of the employees were Pakistani nationals. Such was his spirit towards his homeland. Over 80 per cent of the top executives of the bank were Pakistani.

A bank that was too successful:




BCCI’s influence went beyond everyone’s expectations. It became a big player throughout the world and expanded at a great pace, making BCCI a dominant force worldwide. Hence, it was decided by some that it was time for the BCCI to go. BCCI was accused of funding Pakistan’s nuclear program, Palestinian fighters, money laundering and various other charges. Agha became a wanted man internationally. Pakistan’s government gave him full protection and refused to hand him over. Agha was maligned in the international media and the bank was alleged to have links with international intelligence agencies. Mired in controversy, the bank was torn apart.

The focus of this article is to bring Agha Sahib’s contributions to Pakistan in the limelight. His contribution is of such magnitude that it is safe to say that he shaped the modern Pakistan. Pakistan’s banking industry is often considered extremely competent. Most emerging banks in the Middle East are using expertise from Pakistan to set up their banking and financial sectors. If we dig to the roots of this accomplishment, it was Agha Hasan who deserves all the credit. BCCI trained thousands of Pakistanis to become successful banking professionals. The stable structure and modern infrastructure of banking in Pakistan comes from Agha.

Agha was a visionary. He introduced computer science in Pakistan, back when few knew what it even was. He donated Rs100 million to form the BCCI Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST) in 1980 to promote computer science in Pakistan. The year 2000 saw this foundation create FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, a premier multi-campus university with campuses in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Moreover, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) was also a brainchild of the same man. Both these schools have produced many scientists and engineers who are contributing heavily towards Pakistan’s economy.

Agha was a businessman, who genuinely believed that an individual’s goal should be to help the poor. His great achievements can be proved by the fact that his philanthropic activities are bearing fruits even today, well over a decade after his death. Yet, most of the information about him on the Internet projects him as a corrupt banker only. His contributions towards Pakistan are often overlooked and ignored.


In the mess that exists today, the youth of Pakistan desperately needs inspiring personalities to look up to.

I cannot think of a better person to quote.

He proved that politics is not the only form of service to the nation. He suffered through various scandals towards the end of his life, but no one can deny his contributions towards building a stronger Pakistan. It is a shame we let our youth forget a man like Agha Hasan Abedi.

Thousands graduate every year from FAST National University and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute. Only a handful of those proud degree holders know who laid the foundations of these prestigious institutes. It was one man’s vision that delivered tremendously to Pakistan’s development.


Agha started his banking career at Habib Bank in the late 1940s and enjoyed instant promotions. He went on to join the United Bank Ltd (UBL) in 1959 and shot up the ranks again. Under his leadership, UBL changed the banking culture in Pakistan and it became the second largest bank in the country. But this is just a small highlight of his résumé.

When banks in Pakistan were nationalised in 1972, Agha went on to start the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). He persuaded the Arabs to invest in it, which turned into one of the largest banks in the world, spreading its influence through offices in 72 countries around the world. It employed some 16, 000 people and Agha made sure that a majority of the employees were Pakistani nationals. Such was his spirit towards his homeland. Over 80 per cent of the top executives of the bank were Pakistani.

BCCI World fast growing Bank

BCCI’s influence went beyond everyone’s expectations. It became a big player throughout the world and expanded at a great pace, making BCCI a dominant force worldwide. Hence, it was decided by some that it was time for the BCCI to go. BCCI was accused of funding Pakistan’s nuclear program, Palestinian fighters, money laundering and various other charges. Agha became a wanted man internationally. Pakistan’s government gave him full protection and refused to hand him over. Agha was maligned in the international media and the bank was alleged to have links with international intelligence agencies. Mired in controversy, the bank was torn apart.

The focus of this article is to bring Agha Sahib’s contributions to Pakistan in the limelight. His contribution is of such magnitude that it is safe to say that he shaped the modern Pakistan. Pakistan’s banking industry is often considered extremely competent. Most emerging banks in the Middle East are using expertise from Pakistan to set up their banking and financial sectors. If we dig to the roots of this accomplishment, it was Agha Hasan who deserves all the credit. BCCI trained thousands of Pakistanis to become successful banking professionals. The stable structure and modern infrastructure of banking in Pakistan comes from Agha.

Agha was a visionary. He introduced computer science in Pakistan, back when few knew what it even was. He donated Rs100 million to form the BCCI Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST) in 1980 to promote computer science in Pakistan. The year 2000 saw this foundation create FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, a premier multi-campus university with campuses in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Moreover, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) was also a brainchild of the same man. Both these schools have produced many scientists and engineers who are contributing heavily towards Pakistan’s economy.

Agha was a businessman, who genuinely believed that an individual’s goal should be to help the poor. His great achievements can be proved by the fact that his philanthropic activities are bearing fruits even today, well over a decade after his death. Yet, most of the information about him on the Internet projects him as a corrupt banker only. His contributions towards Pakistan are often overlooked and ignored.

#LongLivePakistan; Pakistan Zindabad🇵🇰️

Top Stories:

Viral Stories:


Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Tax Rebate? Its Calculation, Reasons , Documentation & Methods

According to Nigerian Law what is Tax Rebate? Its Calculation,Reasons,Documentation & Methods Tax Rebate/Tax Refund A  tax refund  or  tax rebate  is a payment to the taxpayer when the taxpayer pays more tax than they owe. Calculation of Tax Rebate/Tax Refund Tax rebate/Tax refund =    Input tax – Output Tax Input Tax An input tax is a levy paid by a business on acquired goods and services. An example of an input tax is the value added tax . When a business then taxes its customers , this is considered an output tax. The business pays the federal revenue authority the difference between the output tax and input tax if the amount is positive, or it can apply for a tax refund if the amount is negative. Output Tax Output tax  is the VAT that is calculated and charged on the sale of goods and services from your business, if you are VAT-registered. This must be calculated on sales to ot...

Airline industry suffered severely by Corona Virus

Corona Virus directly hit to the Airlines industry. Flight operations are reduced up to 85% and multinationals are adopting the policy of firing their employees from their jobs. In 1st stage they have fired over 55 age group emplyees, if this situation will continue it will go very bad especially for pilots, approximately more 100,000 pilots will be fire and more than 1 Million including professional and non clerical staff will be fire. Top multinationals worldwide grounded their airoplanes and are in huge losses of the entire history.  The world economic outlook of airlines industry.  -Virgin fires more than 3000 people including 600 Pilots - Virgin Australia folds.   -Finnair returns 12 planes and lays off 2,400 people  -You grounds 22 planes and fires 4,100 people  - Ryanair grounds 113 planes and gets rid of 900 pilots for the moment, 450  more in the coming months  - Norwegian completely stops its long-haul activity!!!  The 787s are retu...

20 User Friendly Tools of ERP-Next for Sales and Purchase Activity

  Re invent Sales And Supply Chain With An Open Source Sales & Purchase Tool Track inventory levels, replenish stock, and manage sales orders, customers, suppliers, shipments, deliverables, and order fulfillment — all in one open source sales & purchase ERP. Below is the List of Salas and purchase tools/. Real-Time View of Your Sales & Purchases. Item Variants. Track Serial Numbers Manage Lots Multi-Channel Sales Powerful Marketing Tools Elegant Print Formats Powerful Marketing Tools Journals and Payments Accounts Receivable Documents Storage. Stock Replenishment: Promotional Schemes Vendor Management Supplier Portal Accounts Payable Automated Invoicing Multi-Currency Sales On-The-Fly Customizations Self-Onboarding & Implementation Real-Time View of Your Sales & Purchases E RPNext brings all critical sales and purchase data to one place. Dashboards provide an at-a-glance view of key performance indicators relevant to business processes. With configurable accoun...