Architect of ICT admin

Islamabad:Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed was the key architect of Islamabad district administration. He hails from Sialkot, therefore he has the intellectual seed from the city of Sialkot, the birthplace of Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Being a highly capable and well-qualified CSP officer, he contributed a lot towards establishing the governance and administration structure of Islamabad Capital Territory. His tenure as the Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad started in 1981 and he remained in office till his voluntary exit in April 1987 after differences with the then incumbent government.

Being 2nd on the list as DC Islamabad, it was a very difficult task to establish the governance infrastructure, public offices and SOPs for the various administration departments in the Federal Capital. Whatever ethics and norms he established as the Deputy Commissioner of ICT, they are still in place even today. District administration of Islamabad, since 1981, is exemplary in its working mechanism. Our society, unfortunately, has developed some deterioration which has also affected various segments of society but I believe that the District admiration of Islamabad is way much better as compared to other provinces and other government departments in Islamabad. This is all due to the noble contribution of Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed for the administrative development of Islamabad.

Upholding rule of law, as a distinct hallmark of the administration, many officers were groomed on the job to become competent managers and leaders in their own right in the due course. Among them, Chaudhary Muhammad Ali was also one of the best officers who was recognized and groomed under the able leadership of Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed. He also retired as Deputy Commissioner and Director Administration of ICT who acted less as a bureaucrat and more as a public representative in solving the day-to-day issues of citizens of Islamabad.

We should make Islamabad a model city of Pakistan. If we can build Motorway Police as a model police force, we can surely create such exemplary officers and staff members in other departments of the government particularly in Islamabad. Presently Chief Commissioner Islamabad, Amir Ali Ahmed and Deputy Commissioner, Hamza Shafqaat are contributing a lot to keep up the traditions set by Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed.

He completed his initial education from Government High School Sialkot and did his graduation from Jinnah Islamia College Sialkot. Spanning over 34 years, his career as a Public Administrator started in November 1971 and he ascended up to the highest ladder of elite Civil Service before voluntary retirement in 2005 as Federal Secretary, Ministry of Science & Technology.

He has a vast experience to serve various Federal Ministries which include Interior, Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Kashmir & Northern Areas Affairs, Finance & Economic Affairs, Commerce, Local Government & Rural Development, Science & Technology, Cabinet Secretariat and Prime Minister’s Office. Moreover, he also served as the Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Pakistan in Bangkok & Alternate Permanent Representative to UNESCAP (1987-1992). He remained the Executive Director, Asian Development Bank (1999-2002) and Economist Member of FAO/WFP Food Security Missions to Rwanda and Zambia (1995).

Owing to his sea of knowledge and versatile experience, he was appointed Special Assistant to Prime Minister of Pakistan as ex-officio Minister in August 2013. Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed retired after an illustrious service spanning over more than three decades. He, beyond any doubt, is a man of extraordinary qualities and elevated principles who contributed a wealth of service to Pakistan in high-level management of various domains of public administration.