Pakistan, as ex-employees of UBL, were all reemployed by Agha Sahib. He reinstated them all at their original packages and even offered them rehabilitation bonuses.
His social contribution to Pakistan and the global village with charitable organisations in the UK, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and India has been significant. He established Infaq Foundation whose major beneficiaries have been SIUT, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases. There are also Lady Dufferin Hospital, Sir Syed University of Science and Technology and GIK in Topi.
Abedi was a man who wore many hats. He was a master, an articulator of new management concepts, which in that era was equivalent to heresy to much of the commercial world. Abedi addressed many issues outside the confines of banking and business. He exhibited the depth of his soul by speaking on compassion, empathy, humility interdependence, tolerance, forbearance and interfusion. He was a living example of people management.
He took the role of a great leader, and also played the part of a mentor for his staff and was a source of inspiration for the entire financial sector. He possessed inexhaustible energy. He was always smiling. Under his leadership, improvements in processes were rewarded and appreciated in the work culture he fostered. The motivation level of employees was incredibly high and was a key factor anchoring employees to the institution. A young banker once wrote a letter to Abedi thanking the management that he had been given a new purpose in life through his institution.
It is my firm belief that had his health not declined he would have rescued the bank from closure. He was a personal and private banker to the high and mighty just like a former banker-prime minister, only that he was better than the latter. The only issue with his bank’s setup was that it was an Arab-owned bank managed by Pakistanis in 73 countries with 450 offices globally.
Abedi was a man of peace. He rubbed shoulders with Jimmy Carter, James Callaghan and Deng Xiao Ping. Consequently he found himself on the international radar, and being from a Third World country he paid a heavy price for it.
A few years ago the government of Pakistan bestowed on Yusuf Khan, aka Dilip Kumar, an actor of great talent, the ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan’. Although I am a great fan of Dilip Kumar and his movies, but bestowing the ‘Sitara-e-Imtiaz’ on Agha Sahib, a ceaselessly true patriot, leaves me feeling extremely disappointed. Is that all he deserves?
The writer is a senior banker. Email: cirajuddinaziz@gmail.com
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