Professor Khurshid Ahmad, former deputy chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), passed away in Leicester, United Kingdom, on Sunday at the age of 93.
Born on March 23, 1932, in Delhi, Prof Ahmad pursued legal studies and later earned master’s degrees in Economics and Islamic Studies from the University of Karachi. In recognition of his academic contributions, the same university awarded him an honorary degree in Education.
He joined Islami Jamiat Talaba Pakistan in 1949 and became its central president in 1953. By 1956, he had formally joined Jamaat-e-Islami. Prof Ahmad later received an honorary PhD in Economics from the University of Leicester, where he specialized in Islamic economics.
His political career included serving as the federal minister for planning and development in 1978 and as Deputy Chairman of Pakistan’s Planning Commission. He was elected to the Senate in 1985, 1997, and 2002, and also chaired the Senate Standing Committee on Economic and Planning Affairs.
Prof Ahmad was a prolific writer, having authored around 70 books in English and Urdu. He played a significant advisory role in the Islamisation process of Pakistan during General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime in the 1980s.
For his scholarly and public service contributions, he was awarded Pakistan’s highest civilian honour, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, in 2011, and the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam in 1990.
