ValikaKamruddin Valibhai of Bombay, the founder of the dynasty that came to be known as the Valikas, had four sons, Fakhruddin Valibhai, Najjamuddin Valibhai, Saifuddin Valibhai and Nooruddin Valibhai. One of the leading Muslim industrialists of Mumbai known for his unflinching support to the cause of Pakistan, Kamruddin. Valibhai enjoyed close association with stalwarts of…
My father, Ikram Sehgal, remembers US propeller driven C74 Globemasters landing every 30 minutes or so in 1954 in (then) Dhaka Airport (Tejgaon) bringing flood relief material to cope with the devastating floods than engulfing East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The relief material, blankets, milk powder, butter oil, etc mostly got sold in the markets in…
The year 2022 has brought on the worst flood in the history of Pakistan; it is estimated that a loss of 30 billion Dollars has been caused and the magnitude is mounting on a daily basis. Almost 1500 lives have been lost and a lot many will be endangered if relief goods are not provided…
Bawany GroupBorn in 1882 and 1890 respectively at Jetpur, Kathiawar, Ahmad Karim Ebrahim Bawany and Abdul Latif Ibrahim Bawany founded the Bawany dynasty. Migrating to Burma towards the end of 19th century, the two brothers reportedly made their initial fortunes by selling cloth as vendors on bicycles from village to village. They incorporated their first…
Esmail Ali who was from Gujarat in Western India began the Khoja Mithabhai Nathoo Trading Company in 1841. Joining the firm in 1891, his son Esmail Habib established Habib and Sons in 1922, with the famous Habib family logo, the Lion of Ali and the sword of Ali, Zulfiqar, above it. When Seth Ismail Habib…
Natural disasters are notorious for two things – one, unleashing an era of human suffering and two, putting the moral compass and learning effectiveness of the ruling elite and the state under the microscope! In the recent floods, hitting vast swathes of Pakistan, the former was unfortunately on ample display and the latter was repeatedly…
A Pakistani economist, international development theorist, and politician Dr Mahbub ul Haq (February 1934 – 16 July 1998) served as the Federal Minister of Finance of Pakistan from 10 April 1985 to 28 January 1986, and again from June to December 1988 in the Caretaker Cabinet. To quote the New York Times, “An early proponent…
The arms race between India and Pakistan has always remained a gravitational point of South Asian regional politics. The decades-long multileveled hostility between New Delhi and Islamabad have always attracted the attention of the international community towards the strategic competition of South Asian nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. The two governments have developed uncompromising positions…
Suicide Attacks Four soldiers were killed in a suicide blast at a military convoy in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan District on August 8, reports Dawn. The deceased soldiers were identified as Lance Naik Shahzaib (22), a resident of Mansehra (KP), Lance Naik Sajjad (26), hailing from Ghizer (Pakistan-administered Kashmir), Sepoy Umair (25), a…
As in most other countries, family business plays an important role in the national economy of Pakistan. About 80% of our economy are created by family business. But family business seems to be in a kind of crisis today. A huge chunk of Pakistan’s 22 richest family-owned businesses, tracing back to the 1960s and 70s…
