Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui

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Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui (Urdu: قاضى ذوالقدر صديقى) (born June 21, 1952) is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Techcorp Group of Companies [1] which are spread out over Pakistan, Bangladesh, the UAE, Afghanistan and China. The group is currently involved in engineering services and construction business aimed primarily at the telecom sector, structures, and institutional corporate buildings. In addition, the group is involved in the security services business. [2]

Mr. Siddiqui is an accomplished senior executive in corporate management, international business, marketing management, industrial management, and business development in the fields of information technology/services, technology systems and services, and industrial and construction products and systems, with an impressive track record during a thirty year career in Saudi Arabia, USA, Canada and Pakistan. He has successfully led several major corporations and businesses in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Bangladesh in various areas of technology including telecommunications, information services, alternate energy, chemical industry, electrical distribution and civil construction.

In addition to his business accomplishments, he has been deeply involved in academic activities, primarily with universities in Pakistan. He has also demonstrated his leadership in social sector development and relief activities through NGOs. He is the founder chairman of the Petarian Foundation, [3] and a director of the Metupak Foundation. Both of these organizations are involved in improving the standard of education in Pakistan. [4]

Mr. Siddiqui is one of the pioneers in the field of Wind Energy in Pakistan, which is expected to provide a clean source of energy in line with the international efforts to reduce pollution and global warming.

Contents

[edit] Education and Early Life

Mr. Siddiqui is a graduate in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Mass, USA.[5] He pursued his graduate studies in at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal Canada. Prior to his studies at MIT, he also studied at the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey for 3 semesters. [6]

Kazi Zulkader is a direct descendent of the famous Sufi Baha-ud-din Zakariya Multani (1160-1267). One of his great-grandsons Shaykh Nizamuddin moved to the Deccan in South India during the reign of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq around the year 1343. Subsequently, this branch of the family settled down in Hyderabad for over six centuries. Kazi Zulkader's ancestors were given the title of "Kazi", i.e. judge and administrators of the various towns that were located west of the city of Hyderabad - like Qandahar, Udgir, Parbhani, etc.

His grandfather Kazi Zainul Abedin was one of the earliest officers of the Hyderabad Civil Service and eventually rose up to the rank of a Secretary in the government of the Nizam of Hyderabad State. His father Kazi Abdur Rasheed also followed in the footsteps and joined the Hyderabad Civil Service in 1946, two years before the fall of Hyderabad State to Indian armed forces.

A year after the creation of Pakistan, his grandfather Kazi Zainul Abedin moved to Pakistan and settled down in Mirpurkhas, Sindh in 1948. Kazi Zainul Abedin spent the rest of his years at Mirpurkhas in developing agricultural farms and social work in that area. He died in 1963 and was buried on his farms there.

Kazi Zulkader spent his high school years at Cadet College Petaro,[7] one of the premier institutions in Pakistan, from where he completed his Matriculation and Intermediate (FSc). Cadet College Petaro is located around 160Km from Karachi, the main port city of Pakistan. This college has produced many prominent Pakistanis who have excelled in every field in Pakistan.

In 1969, upon completion of his 12 years of schooling from Petaro, Kazi Zulkader moved to Ankara, Turkey and was admitted to the Chemical Engineering program at the Middle East Technical University in the Fall of that year with a full merit scholarship from CENTO. Those were tumultuous years, and the university was going through a difficult period. With political upheavals influenced by Leftist and communist philosophies, Middle East Technical University was also hit badly. Boycott of classes and other Leftist student activities disrupted studies, leading to closure of the university for 6 months from March - August 1971 after a battle on campus between the Leftist students and the Turkish armed forces.

Kazi Zulkader then chose to make a move. He applied for transfer to MIT, USA. He was granted admission as a transfer student in the Sophomore year with scholarship and financial assistance from the university. He moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in September 1971. Subsequently, he graduated from MIT from the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1974.

Kazi Zulkader is proficient and fluent in English and Urdu (his native language). Besides, he has a good command over Arabic and Turkish as well.

[edit] Academic Experience

For the past several years, Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui has also been a professor of Ethics, History and Religion at various universities in Pakistan. Currently, he is Professor of Civilization Studies and Medical Ethics at the Shifa College of Medicine (Bahria University) where he heads the "Physician and Society" program. This is a unique program that examines philosophical and medical ethics issues in a Muslim and Pakistani environment.

Previously, he has taught courses on History and Modern Muslim thought at the Hamdard University, Islamabad Campus. He was also the Founder Head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the Women's Institute of Science and Humanities [8] (Riphah International University, Islamabad), where he is still listed as a visiting Professor.

He has lectured extensively on various subjects related to civilizational studies, ethics, religion and technology in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Sri Lanka.[9]

He is also a member of the Editorial Committee of the well respected journal "Islamic Studies"[10] published by the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University Islamabad.[11]

[edit] Voluntary Activities

Since his return to Pakistan in 1995, Kazi Zulkader has been involved in a number of activities to support social sector and educational programs. He has also been deeply involved in philanthropic organizations.

He has been on the Board of Governors / Management Board of the following academic institutions:

In addition, he is an Honorary Advisor on Technology at the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan.

Since its inception in 2003, he has been the Chairman [13] of the Petarian Foundation, which offers scholarships to needy and meritorious students at Cadet College Petaro, and runs their teacher training programs. The devastating earthquake [14] in the northern areas of Pakistan on 8 Oct 2005 brought the Petarian Foundation to offer relief programs, medical relief programs and reconstruction and rehabilitation programs. To date, the Petarian Foundation has disbursed nearly US$ 2.5 million worth of relief and reconstruction services in Bagh, AJK in cash and kind.

Mr. Siddiqui is also an Education Counselor for new undergraduate applicants to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, USA. He has also been a Member of the Nomination Committee for selection of candidates from Pakistan for the Eisenhower Foundation Fellowships, Washington, DC.

[edit] Publications

Mr. Siddiqui has authored a number of articles on history, religion, ethics and technology published in the Journal of Pakistan Historical Society, Islamic Studies, Al-Hawliyah, Arc, and other journals. He was the editor of a number of journals during his student days at MIT and McGill University. Some of his books are expected to be published during the current year.

Some of his articles that have been published are as follows:

  • "The Theory of Knowledge: Epistemological Typologies of Some Major Mutakallimun", Journal of Pakistan Historical Society, vol. XXXVI, part III, July 1988, pp.225-242.
  • "A Bibliography of Writings By and About Mawlana Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi", published in Islamic Perspectives, edited by K. Ahmad and Z.I. Ansari, Leicester, UK, 1979. [15]
  • "Islam - the Balanced Path", in Arc (quarterly journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal), Spring 1979, Vol. VI:2.
  • "The Problem of Historical Distortion", in Hawliya – Annual Journal of International Islamic University, Islamabad, Vol. IX (2001), pp. 23-39
  • "The Problem of Similarities in Ancient Near Eastern Religions: A Comparison of the Hymn to Aton and Psalm 104" in Islamic Studies, Vol. 40:1 (Spring 2001), pp. 67-88 [16]
  • "Women in the Early Christian Church", in Hawliya – Annual Journal of International Islamic University, Islamabad, Vol. X (2002)
  • "The Prophetic Movement in Ancient Israel: with a case study of the Book of Amos", in Hawliya – Annual Journal of International Islamic University, Islamabad, Vol. XI (2003)
  • Halal and Haram Meat [17]
  • "The Directory of Petarians 2007", Islamabad, February 2007 (576 pp)
  • "Petaro and Petarian over 50 years", Islamabad, February 2007 (180 pp)
  • "Col. J.H.H. Coombes - The First Principal of Cadet College Petaro - including his wartime memoirs 'Banpong Express'", Islamabad, February 2007 (207 pp)
  • "The Directory of METU Pakistanis 2006", June 2006 (91 pp)
  • "The Directory of Petarians 2002", Karachi, September 2002 (400 pp)
  • "The Directory of Petarians 2000", Karachi, May 2000 (270 pp)

[edit] Professional Affiliations

  • Registered Professional Engineer, Pakistan Engineering Council
  • Member, All Pakistan Contractors Association [18]
  • Member, Management Association of Pakistan
  • Member, Marketing Association of Pakistan
  • Member, Institution of Engineers, Pakistan
  • Member, Instrument Society of America (ISA), USA
  • Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA
  • Member, Internet Society of Pakistan
  • Life Member, Pakistan Historical Society, Pakistan
  • Member, Medical Ethics Research Council, Pakistan
  • Founder Chairman, Petarian Foundation
  • Director, Metupak Foundation
  • Life Member, Petarian Association

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ See http://www.techcorpholding.com for details about the group.
  2. ^ See the Pakistan Board of Investment site http://www.pakboi.gov.pk/pak/adsummery.asp?PageNo=361&SortOptions=0 for listing of Premier Security Services (Pvt) Ltd.
  3. ^ See http://www.petarianfoundation.org/Management.htm
  4. ^ See http://www.pepfoundation.org/weakest_link.pdf where Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui discusses some of the issues related to higher education in Pakistan
  5. ^ See the Wikipedia article on "List of Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni"
  6. ^ See the list of Pakistanis who studied at METU at http://home.ica.net/~rabbani/list/list_01.htm
  7. ^ See http://www.petaro.org and check under "Search for Petarian" for details
  8. ^ A list of faculy of WISH is given on their website at http://www.wish.edu.pk/F_Visiting.htm
  9. ^ See 1. See "Capacity Building of RIU's Students Continues" on page 4 of http://www.ips.org.pk/IpsnewsText/IPS%20News%20Jan-March%202007-Fina.pdf for programs at Riphah University, 2. See also details of international lecture delivered at Sri Lanka for the Eisenhower Foundation Fellowships program at http://www.efsrilanka.info/2006_conference_Speaker_Biographies.htm
  10. ^ Islamic Studies
  11. ^ Editorial Committee
  12. ^ A list of the Management Board of WISH is given at http://www.wish.edu.pk/MB.htm
  13. ^ See http://www.petarianfoundation.org/management.htm
  14. ^ See reports of activities at http://www.hawausa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8&Itemid=2 and also at http://www.pakistan-earthquake.org
  15. ^ See http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-9118(198005)39%3A3%3C620%3AIPSIHO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7 for review citation of the book
  16. ^ This article is listed at http://www.ttk.gov.tr/data/2001/is40-1.htm and http://www.ttk.org.tr/index.php?Page=SureliYayinlar&No=2606
  17. ^ For full text of article, see http://www.contactpakistan.com/news/news143.htm
  18. ^ See listing at http://www.apca.org.pk/pages/members4.html

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[edit] External links