IoBM founder Shahjehan Syed Karim passes away at 84

The former bureaucrat suffered from multiple diseases and had been in the hospital for last two weeks


Hafeez Tunio July 18, 2017

KARACHI: Institute of Business Management (IoBM) founder Shahjehan Syed Karim, who once served as the Sindh chief secretary and Pakistan Television chairperson, passed away at a local hospital on Sunday at the age of 84.

According to family members, the former bureaucrat had been suffering from multiple diseases and had been admitted in the hospital for the last two weeks. Karim's funeral will be held in the premises of IoMB, Korangi Creek today (Tuesday), where he will be laid to rest as per his wishes. He is survived by five children - four sons and one daughter.

Shahjehan was born in Patna, the largest city of the Bihar province of India and obtained his higher education from Aligarh University. Later on he went to the United States for his post-graduate education where he obtained a degree in political science from the University of Arizona.

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Soon after his return to Pakistan, he sat for the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam and qualified for it in 1957. He started the district management group and served on various positions, including deputy commissioner, commissioner, secretary, federal secretary, Pakistan Television chairperson and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation chairperson, known as Radio Pakistan. He retired after serving as the Sindh chief secretary on grade-22 in 1994.  Even after his retirement, he continued his mission of imparting education and founded IoBM, which is a private business school in Karachi.

His son, Talib Karim, who also works as rector of the university, said his father dedicated his life to education. "He was a great father and mentor," he said, adding that Shahjehan has left behind IoBM as his legacy. "The institute has more than 7,000 alumni," Talib added.

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Sindh Information Department Director Zeenat Jehan, who started her career as a public relations officer in 1985, recalled the days when Shahjehan was secretary of the department. "I found him a very literate, intelligent bureaucrat. He had the memory of an elephant and was a book lover. He used to tell us the contact numbers of government departments and references of office files verbally. It seemed as if there was database inside him about Pakistan's culture, history and politics," she said.

Nawabzada Shahryar Muhammad Khan, known as Sheharyar Khan, who is the Pakistan Cricket Board chairperson, former defence secretary Salim Abbas Jilani, former Sindh chief secretary Kanwar Idress and former Punjab chief secretary Anwar Zahid were among his best friends who started their careers as bureaucrats along with Shahjehan.

Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Sindh Information Secretary Imran Atta Soomro expressed deep sorrow over Shahjehan's demise and prayed for his departed soul.

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