Board of Directors

Dr. Humayun Khan is the Chairman of Institute of Rural Management. He was educated at the prestigious Bishop Cotton School in Simla, India and later at Edwardes College Peshawar and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He holds an honours degree and an MA from Cambridge University. He was called to the Bar from Lincoln’s Inn, London in 1954. Later, he earned another MA and a Doctorate from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He joined the then Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1955 and served as Assistant Commissioner, Tank; Assistant Commissioner, Nowshera; Deputy Commissioner, Bannu; Political Agent, North Waziristan and Political Agent, Malakand.

He was Home Secretary, NWFP in the NAP-JUI Government in 1972-73, after which he moved to the Pakistan Foreign Service. He served in the country’s missions in Moscow and the UNO at Geneva before he was appointed Ambassador to Bangladesh in 1979. In 1984 he became Ambassador to India and served there for four and a half years. He returned as Foreign Secretary of Pakistan in 1988 and held the post till 1989, when Benazir Bhutto made him an OSD. On the dismissal of her first Government in 1990, he was appointed High Commissioner in London. He retired from government service in 1992 but was immediately selected as Head of the Commonwealth Foundation, an inter-governmental international organization with its headquarters in London. He held this position from 1993 to 2000, when he returned to Peshawar. He has since served on the National Finance Commission and on the Board of the National Rural Support Programme. He also works with the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy and on a number of committees dealing with relations between the countries of South Asia. He has written extensively on Indo-Pak relations and is co-author of DIPLOMATIC DIVIDE published in India.

Shoaib Sultan Khan holds a Master of Arts in English from Lucknow University, a Bachelor of Law from Peshawar University and has also completed a Public Administration Course at the University of Cambridge, UK. Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan has been closely associated with policy making and development planning in Pakistan and is currently serving as honorary Chairman, Board of Directors of the Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN), National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), Ghazi Brotha Development Organization (GBTI), Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) and Director of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP), Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP) and Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP), besides being Director of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Member of the Advisory Group of the World Bank sponsored Community Development Carbon Fund, Member of the Government of Pakistan Advisory Committee on Millennium Development Goals and Chairman of the Pakistan Government’s Vision 2030 Group on Just Society.

As Senior Advisor, South Asia Poverty Alleviation Programme (SAPAP) of the UNDP, Mr. Khan has set up demonstration pilots in the six countries of the SAARC region, on the pattern of the AKRSP. He has also received the Global 500 award in 1989, the Sitara-e- Imtiaz in 1990, the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1992 and the WWF Conservation Medal in 1994.

An eminent development professional, Dr. Rashid Bajwa is leading the only countrywide development programme (National Rural Support Programme) in Pakistan. He holds an MPH degree from the UK and an MBBS from Pakistan. He has extensive experience in the field s of Management, Social Mobilization, Community Development, Microfinance and Policy. Dr. Bajwa is implementing one of the largest microfinance programmes in Pakistan: has helped in setting up Khushaali Bank, Pakistan while also providing guidance to other non-profits as Chairman of Pakistan Microfinance Network, Director of Khushaal Pakistan Fund, Punjab Rural Support Programme and Sindh Rural Support Organization.

Nazar Memon holds MA in Economics from the University of Karachi and MA in Regional Planning, Clark University, USA. He has also obtained Diploma in Comprehensive Regional Planning from United Nations Center for Regional Development, Japan and Diploma Certificate in District Health Planning from Institute of Child Health, London UK.

He was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) till 2008. As a Consultant Capacity Building National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) he has worked on the Capacity Building of elected representatives and government functionaries that came under the paradigm shift of Devolution in Pakistan. He has contributed to the final draft of Local Government Ordinance 2000.

He has served UNICEF in the area of Social Planning, with special focus on women and children. He has also worked in Tanzania and Uganda in the development of Area based programmes. As Head of Area Services in Kenya and South Africa, he extended his services in the areas of Programming, Planning, Implementation and Monitoring of community-based programmes/projects in collaboration with the local communities.

Dr. Tariq Siddiqui is a renowned educationist and policy maker. He holds M. Sc. Degree from Punjab University, MPA and Ph.D. from Syracuse University USA. Presently he is the Member of Board of NRSP-Institute of Rural Management and Akhter Hameed Khan Resource Centre. He has served as the Vice-Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University and Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. He was the Secretary, Planning Division, Government of Pakistan and Member of the Planning Commission.

Mr. Fazalullah Qureshi presently serving the Board of Pakistan Steel as the Chairman, Fazalullah Qureshi holds MA (Economics) from the Sindh University and a Certificate in Development Economics from Glasgow University UK. He has completed Fellowship in Development Economics from World Bank’s Economic Development Institute (EDI) Washington. Mr. Qureshi was appointed as the Vice Chairman National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) in 2001 and has served as the Federal Secretary Planning & Development twice. He was also the Chairman of National Tariff Commission in 1999. He is an active BOD Member of various organizations including Sindh Rural Support Organization, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, Rural Support Programme Network, NRSP Microfinance bank, National Rural Support Program and Sindh Graduate Association. He is also a Member of Trust for Voluntary Organization.

The first woman Vice Chancellor/Founder of the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University in Balochistan, Dr. Shahida Jaffrey holds a Masters Degree in English Literature from University of Punjab Lahore and PhD in Education. She is the Chairperson of Behbud Balochistan, which provides preventive health care to underprivileged women in the rural area of District Mastung Balochistan. She has also served as the Member of Board of Security and Exchanges Commission of Pakistan and AHAN Pakistan – “Aik Hunar Aik Nagar”, Director of Rural Support Programmes Network and Chief Executive of the largest Rural Support Programme in Balochistan, the Balochistan Rural Support Programme

Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib, a prominent social worker, volunteer and development professional, graduated from King Edward Medical College Lahore and completed Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) and Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, from the American University, Washington D.C., USA. He joined civil service of Pakistan (DMG) in 1985. In 1998, he joined Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP), as General Manager and remained with this organization for seven years. He resigned from civil service in 2003. Since then, besides rendering philanthropic and social services, he has been providing consultancy services to Asian Development Bank, International Labour Organization, UNICEF, World Bank, and Canadian International Development Agency. His areas of expertise include poverty alleviation, microfinance, social mobilization and education management.

He is author of four books and is well known columnist and has been writing for daily Jinnah, Pakistan, Jang and Nawa-i-Waqt. He has attended many national and international conferences and represented Pakistan at different forums. In recognition of his literary achievements, Government of the Punjab awarded him Khush Hal Khan Khattak Literary award in 1993. He is regular guest speaker at Civil Services Academy (CSA), National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and many other professional forums. He has been among the visiting faculty at Kinnaird College Lahore, Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) and University of the Punjab.

Dr. Saqib is founder of Akhuwat, first ever interest free microfinance programme. This is the largest individual based lending programme in the country and is referred to in many international universities as a unique and innovative model in microfinance. He is Akhuwat’s Executive Director and main driving force since its inception in year 2001. Keeping in view his management experience and volunteer services for poverty alleviation, he has been requested by the Government of the Punjab to lead two of its flagship programmes i.e. Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) and Punjab Welfare Trust for the Disabled (PWTD).

Dr. Aliya Khan is the Professor of Department of Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She holds Master of Arts in Social Sciences and Ph.D. in Economics from University of Illinois at Chicago.

She has also served as the Registrar of the Quaid-i-Azam University. She remained a Member of the Debt Management and Reduction Committee, Ministry of Finance and has also worked in the subcommittee on Institutional Arrangements for Debt Management. She was nominated by the Federal Ministry of Labor, Manpower & Overseas Pakistanis to attend the ILO Seminar on “International Labor Standards and Equality in Employment, with a Focus on Gender Issues: Tools and Practice” at the ILO International Training Centre in Turin, Italy. She has worked as a National Consultant by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Ministry of Labour, Manpower & Overseas Pakistanis.

Shandana Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) has over eighteen years of extensive grassroots and policy level experience in rural development, mainly in the Rural Support Programmes. Her strengths are in project management, their design and social assessment. Her work at the RSPN has involved undertaking policy advocacy with donors as well as with the highest levels of government and associated institutions (e.g. the National Reconstruction Bureau and the Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment). She contributed strategic insights and inputs into the Pakistan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, the Local Government Ordinance 2001, gender mainstreaming policies, and inclusion of social mobilisation in government programmes at all levels. She has been an advocate for meaningful, result-oriented partnerships between the poor communities and the government and private sector.

Shandana Khan is a strong team player and leader, managing a team of over 100 multidisciplinary professionals at RSPN. She has a social sciences background, with a Masters degree in the Social and Political Sciences from Pembroke College, University of Cambridge as well as a Masters in International Public Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. She is widely traveled and comfortable in multi-cultural settings. She is fluent in English, Urdu and Pushto and functional in French.

Roomi Saeed Hayat is a renowned management and institutional development expert, trainer and facilitator. He is Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Rural Management and Chairperson of the Human Resource Development Network (HRDN). He is an accomplished trainer of international cadre with expertise in – Project Management, Literacy and Post Literacy, Team Building, Institutional Development, Social Mobilization and Situation Analysis. He carries a portfolio of designing and conducting over 500 training events both domestically and internationally. He is known for his innovativeness and versatility in course design and organization. He has authored many training manuals and modules including “Training of Trainers” module for United Nation ESCAP training. His Post literacy Programme has explicit international recognition. He holds Masters Degree in Engineering, 1989 from NJIT- USA and Post Graduate Diploma in Improving Training Quality, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign- USA and AIT- Thailand.