Atif Mian awarded prestigious ‘Guggenheim Fellowship in Economics’

PTI govt faced backlash from hard-liners for appointing member of Ahmadi community in its Economic Advisory Council

ISLAMABAD:

Renowed Pakistani-American economist, Dr Atif Mian has been awarded the prestigious ‘Guggenheim Fellowship in Economics’.

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awards the Guggenheim Fellowship to a select few individuals who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.

Since its establishment in 1925, it has granted nearly $400 million in fellowships to over 18,000 individuals, among whom are more than 125 Nobel laureates, members of all the national academies, winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Fields Medal, Turing Award, Bancroft Prize, National Book Award, and other internationally recognised honours, as per the official statement.

Dr Atif, a scholar in the field of finance and macroeconomics, is regarded as one of the world’s top young economists.

Also read: Govt axes 'uncomfortable' Atif Mian from economic council in turnaround

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led federal government in 2018 cancelled his appointment to its Economic Advisory Council (EAC) after facing strong backlash for appointing member of the minority Ahmadi community.

Following the government’s decision, Atif in a tweet had said: "For the sake of the stability of the government of Pakistan, I have resigned from the Economic Advisory Council, as the government was facing a lot of adverse pressure regarding my appointment from the Mullahs (Muslim clerics) and their supporters."

1/ For the sake of the stability of the Government of Pakistan, I have resigned from the Economic Advisory Council, as the Government was facing a lot of adverse pressure regarding my appointment from the Mullahs (Muslim clerics) and their supporters.

— Atif Mian (@AtifRMian) September 7, 2018

 

Last year, the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi cancelled a seminar of Dr Atif, due to the "threats the university administration was facing from extremists".

"Sorry to report that my zoom economics seminar at IBA Karachi has been cancelled due to threats that the university administration was facing from extremists," said Atif Mian.