Pakistani philanthropist Dr Amjad Saqib nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Dr Amjad Saqib, a Pakistani philanthropist and founder of Akhuwat — the country’s largest interest-free microfinance programme — has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work. Dr. Amjad Saqib has been nominated by Malta’s Foreign Minister, according to the British organization PA Media. However, as per the information available on the website of Nobel Prize, “Neither the names of nominators nor of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize may be divulged until 50 years have elapsed.”

“The Committee does not itself announce the names of nominees, neither to the media nor to the candidates themselves. In so far as certain names crop up in the advance speculations as to who will be awarded any given year’s prize, this is either sheer guesswork or information put out by the person or persons behind the nomination. Information in the Nobel Committee’s nomination database is not made public until after fifty years.”

Dr Saqib earned Asia’s highest honour, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, in 2021 for his humanitarian work in poverty reduction, and has now been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work in poverty alleviation.

Amjad Saqib, while talking to The Express Tribune about his nomination said, “My services are beyond such awards and they are purely for the sake of Allah.” He continued by adding: “An official of a foreign country might have recommended my name for the award as people across the world are familiar with my services for humanity… but I am not aware of any such development.”

Dr Saqib resigned from Civil Service in 2003 and founded Akhuwat the same year. He has been its CEO and main driving force since beginning. With 17 years of successful operations, Akhuwat now presents a viable model of Shariah-compliant microfinance, which is both sustainable and replicable. Besides Akhuwat, Dr Saqib is voluntarily serving many civil society organisations in the realm of education, health, disability, banking and finance. He is also on the board of a commercial bank and a few public universities.

There are 343 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, including 251 individuals and 92 organisations from