By: Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti
Dr. Amjad Saqib, founder of the welfare organization Akhuwat, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Certainly t is a proud moment for our country.
Dr. Amjad Saqib, from a village in Faisalabad area of Pakistan, decided to join the civil service after obtaining MBBS degree from King Edward Medical College. During his government service, he also had the opportunity to work as the General Manager of the Punjab Rural Support Program. This was the moment when Dr. Amjad realized the seriousness of the problem of poverty and decided to dedicate his life to alleviating the poverty of others.
He founded the non-governmental organization Akhuwat and resigned from government service. Dr. Amjad Saqib started giving interest free loans to the poor with a meager capital of Rs. 10,000. Today, his company has become one of the largest non-interest bearing lenders in the world. his organization
has distributed interest-free loans worth billions of rupees to the poor and disadvantaged, and millions of poor families have benefited. Akhuwat has spread beyond the provinces of Pakistan to FATA, Pakistan-administered Kashmir and many parts of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Surprisingly, the fraternal debt repayment rate is about 99 percent. The fraternal loans have also benefited women and the country’s minority communities. Akhuwat also organizes special welfare events in churches at Christmas to help the poor in the Christian community.
This charity is supported by a large number of Pakistani philanthropists. In addition to helping women and men who want to start a business, it also helps poor people who want to build a house, educate their children or marry their children, as well as get loans for other needs. The model of brotherhood is being studied in many countries of the world and in many universities. Akhuwat has offered its services through public-private partnerships for the transparent completion of various government welfare schemes launched by the national and provincial governments of Pakistan to help the poor.
At present, under the supervision of Dr. Amjad Saqib, the founder and executive director of Akhuwat, apart from the core project of providing loans, several welfare schemes are also being run. These include Akhuwat Cloth Bank, Akhuwat Health Services, Akhuwat Dreams Project, Akhuwat Education Assistance Program and Akhuwat Free University, as well as a plan for the welfare and care of eunuchs.
343 candidates from around the world have been selected for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022, including 251 individuals and 92 organizations. One of these names is his name. Dr. Amjad Saqib was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to eradicate poverty and for his service to humanity. Dr. Amjad Saqib’s struggle and nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022 tell us that an individual can do more work than an entire organization.