THIS is in response to Rafi Ahmed’s letter ‘Business graduates and local companies’ (Jan 22) in which the writer mentions that Pakistani businessmen think only of amassing huge cut-throat profits and do not want to give anything back to their soil.

I do not fully agree with this statement because of some fine examples in Pakistan’s industrial and business history.

The BCCI of Agha Hasan Abidi contributed to establishing Fast National University, GIK Institute of Science and Technology, Sir Syed Engineering University, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases.

Sir Adamjee Haji Dawood, a successful industrialist, set up Orient Airways on the instruction of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which was later re - branded as PIA.

Dawood College of Engineering and Technology was established by the Dawood industrial group in 1962.

These philanthropist foundations were mostly undermined after the nationalisation of their parent industries in 1973.

However, some new projects are still being created. Habib University, established by the Habib industrial group, is a fine example, providing higher education to promising students from all backgrounds.

The pace of philanthropy from the major industrial groups has been slowed down due to the country’s law-and-order situation and lower industrial growth for the past three decades. However, it should not be compared with the business community of other countries.

IRFAN HUSSAIN London

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram atrocity
Updated 22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram.
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

PAKISTAN has now registered 50 polio cases this year. We all saw it coming and yet there was nothing we could do to...
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...
Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...