KARACHI: A week after the launch of the Centre of Excellence in Journalism on its fourth floor, the Aman Tower was inaugurated by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan on Saturday. The building is part of the city campus of the Institute of Business Administration.

The media was present in full attendance due to the presence of the governor. But keeping in mind the ongoing ruckus after former mayor Mustafa Kamal’s press conference a day earlier, Dr Ibad kept his interaction with the media specific to the occasion, refraining from commenting on anything apart from the inauguration ceremony. Shortly after inaugurating the building, Dr Ibad left after taking a tour of the building accompanied by his security personnel.

Education minister Nisar Khuhro, present at the event, also refrained from commenting on the ongoing political situation or even the inaugural ceremony.

Sponsored by the Aman Foundation, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Aman Tower was held in 2011. The 13-storey building has classrooms, a campus library, faculty offices, cafeteria, lecture theatres and seminar halls. The fourth floor of the building houses the CEJ which includes editing suites, a studio, a multimedia laboratory, a seminar and a meeting room, and the Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance.

Speaking about the project, IBA dean and director Dr Ishrat Husain said: “The generous support coming from the Aman Foundation made the Rs1.2 billion project possible.” Also present at the ceremony was the chairperson and founder of the Aman Foudation, Fayeeza Naqvi, and her husband, Arif Masood Naqvi, who is the founder and group chief executive of the Abraaj Group in Dubai.

Dr Ishrat Husain said the initial conversation with Mr Naqvi was brief and satisfactory as he agreed to provide financial assistance for the establishment of Aman Tower as part of the IBA campus. “It was after evading the quagmire of the bureaucracy and reaching an agreement that we faced a roadblock, which was the restriction on constructing a building with more than ground plus two storeys,” he added. Subsequent discussions with the core commander of Karachi and the head of the cantonment board of the city, Dr Husain obtained an approval and the construction on the 13-storey building began.

The project was to be completed by 2014, but owing to “poor work ethics” of some developers, the building was completed in 48 months, he added.

Arif Masood Naqvi, thanking the IBA dean, asked the management on the campus to hire someone “as good as him when he retires”. He also asked the people in the hall to donate as much as they could, “as philanthropy by Pakistanis is unparalleled”.

Soon after the guest of honour received souvenirs from Dr Husain, it was announced that the governor of Sindh had arrived after which they were asked to go to the inaugural site adjacent to the auditorium.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2016