During his 1970 study-tour of Com ilia in East Pakistan, however, Shoaib Sultan Khan was amazed at the transformation in the rural scene - the condition of the poor people had changed beyond recognition thanks to Akhter Hameed Khan's guidance. He asked Akhter Hameed Khan for advice on how to implement a similar programme in West Pakistan. As Director of the Pakistan Academy of Rural Development in Peshawar, Shoaib Sultan Khan invited Akhter Hameed Khan to visit the Frontier province and meet with government officials. He recalled that Akhter Hameed Khan would always say "they do not understand what I am saying - they don't understand me".

Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan pointed out that other than President Ayub Khan, no one in government really understood Akhter Hameed Khan. President Ayub once said" Akhter Hameed Khan is the only man in Pakistan who has never come to me for anything". Akhter Hameed Khan throughout his life set an example to others on how to live within one's own means. When the Daudzai Project in Peshawar became controversial, Shoaib Sultan Khan was made an Officer on Special Duty and Akhter Hameed Khan returned to Karachi. Shoaib Sultan Khan soon left Pakistan and sought asylum with the United Nations. One day Akhter Hameed Khan came to visit him in Sri Lanka and asked him to come back to Pakistan to initiate the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. He recalled that Akhter Hameed Khan told him "you must do it because my generation is gone. The new generation is "ghatiya"- you deal with it". Akhter Hameed Khan, however, remained closely affiliated with the programme and the 12 reports written by him on the AKRSP remain a complete textbook on rural development.

Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan pointed out that in the OPP and the AKRSP, Akhter Hameed Khan saw "a ray of hope - a willingness of the people to do something. He saw in people a great resurgence. He was hoping that by making small islands, one day they would cover the entire country." Akhter Hameed Khan looked upon his activists as "jewels"- he wanted them to be truthful of themselves and when he was let down by people, he would not argue, he would just withdraw. When Shoaib Sultan Khan came to him with the proposal to replicate the AKRSP nation-wide, he chided him by saying: "What have you achieved on the ground that you are now reaching for the sky?"

Akhter Hameed Khan was a national asset and a person that one could always turn to for help and guidance. According to Shoaib Sultan Khan "I have never come across a man of the stature of Akhter Hameed Khan. I sometimes wonder did Pakistan really make the best use of his unique experience with which he was so willing and keen to benefit his countrymen and women? The country has missed an opportunity of a century."