Founding Members
A team of highly accomplished Pakistanis residing in Middle East and Pakistan laid the foundation of Diya Pakistan (originally Kaneez Fatima Welfare Foundation), in 1988. Read about our Heritage.
- Dr Khalid Qureshi
- Irfan Siddiqui
- Tariq Sadiq
- Qasim Kazmi
- Saleem Asghar Ali
- Mohammed Haroon
- Zafar Halim
- Noor Abid
- Javed Chaudhry
- Farooq Ladha
- Farrukh Seer
- Dr Zafar Islam Tariq
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees acts in a custodian capacity providing direction and oversight to Diya’s working. Specifically, the board develops strategic goals, reviews management performance, sets annual targets, and liaises with the donor community to enhance visibility and report performance of the organization.
Ashar Nazim
(Chairman)
Ashar Nazim is the Founder/Group CEO of AION Digital. He is also the chairman of Diya Pakistan. Before founding AION, Ashar was a partner and global head of the Islamic banking practice at EY, leading the firm’s advisory practice to build out 30 major Islamic financial institutions across emerging markets. He is currently based out of Bahrain.
Noor Rehman Abid
(Founder & Trustee)
Noor Abid recently retired as the Managing Partner of
Assurance Services at Ernst and Young, Middle East. He is a Fellow of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Based in Bahrain, Noor
brings more than 30 years of experience in the audit and advisory profession
across the Middle East and the UK.
Mohammad Haroon
(Founder)
Mohammed Haroon is a banker by profession with more than 42 years of experience in international banking. He serves as Advisor and Secretary to the Board of Directors of United Gulf Bank in Bahrain. Mohammed previously served as Acting CEO of UGB, up to March 2010, and is a director in several group companies at UGB.
Saleem Asghar Ali
(Founder)
Saleem Asghar Ali is a renowned businessperson and philanthropist based in Bahrain. He is the founder and chairperson of Asghar Ali & Sons, a diversified business group headquartered in Bahrain and with interests in Pakistan and across the Middle East.
Irfan Siddiqui
(Founder)
Irfan Siddiqui is the founder chief executive of Meezan Bank, Pakistan. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and a seasoned banker by profession. He has served in various executive positions internationally including with Kuwait Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Coopers and Lybrand, UK.
Tariq Sadiq
(Founder)
Tariq Sadiq is an ex-senior Partner with Ernst and Young, Middle East. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. For 30 years, Tariq led the Bahrain Office of Ernst and Young, before assuming a regional role for the Middle East and North Africa (2010 – 2013).
Afaq Khan
(Founder)
Afaq is a banker by profession, currently serving as Head of Islamic Banking in Habib Bank Limited. He has also served as ex-CEO of Standard Chartered Saadiq, the global Islamic banking arm of SCB. Afaq is a member of several high-profile professional bodies including the Islamic Finance Advisory Council of DIFC, International Islamic Financial Market, and Islamic Finance Expert Group, UK. Afaq is based in UAE.
Gul Muhammad
(Advisor)
Gul Mohammad is a member of the Board of Trustees of Diya Pakistan. Gul is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan, and until 2007 served with Ernst and Young Kuwait. He is currently associated as Advisor with Ernst and Young Pakistan.
Maria Anzar
(Trustee)
Maria is a member of the Board of Trustees of Diya Pakistan. She is a life coach with a Cambridge certification. Maria is leading the wellbeing committee under which counseling sessions are moderated for Diya students and teachers. She is currently based in Scotland.
Sana Ahmed Hassan
(Trustee – Diya Pakistan & Diya Education Foundation UK)
Sana is a member of the Board of Trustees of Diya Pakistan. She is also a member of the Management Team of Diya Education Foundation UK with the overall responsibility for coordinating the annual fundraising campaign. She is currently based in Bahrain.
Saad Asghar Ali
(Trustee)
Saad Asghar Ali is the Managing Director of Asghar Ali Co. W.L.L. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Diya Pakistan. Saad is currently based in Bahrain.
Shahid Zahir
(Trustee – Diya Education Foundation Canada)
Shahid Zahur is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and was a Partner in the Middle East member firm of Deloitte before moving to Canada. He is the founder of various businesses in the manufacturing, hospitality, and childcare sectors in the USA and Canada.
Haider Jalal
(Trustee – Diya Education Foundation Canada)
Haider Jalal has an Honors Baccalaureate degree in Criminal Justice and a Micro-Masters in Social Work. Currently, he is an Officer with the Federal Government with Service Canada. Haider is a positive individual who always strives to give back and joined Diya to help establish this fulfilling charity locally, in Canada and help expand the reach of Diya and make it further prosper.
Rahat Jalal
(Trustee – Diya Education Foundation Canada)
Rahat Jalal, aka RJ, is a mechanical engineer by education, automotive marketer by profession, and gracefully retired by choice. He pursues social and philanthropic activities, spends time with his grandchildren, and plays pickle ball, not necessarily in that order though. However, DEFC, and its activities, are a priority now.
Qutub Yousafali
(Trustee)
Qutub is a seasoned banking professional with 40 years of experience in finance and banking gained in international banks in the Middle East. Experienced in compliance, business & expansion strategies, investment analysis, feasibility studies, financial accounting, and auditing. He recently joined Eden Corporate Finance, London as Senior Consultant. Qutub was the founding member of MENA Financial Crime Compliance Group.
Management Team
