Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Our Chancellor, His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan,
Our Chief Guest and Pro-Chancellor, Princess Zahra Aga Khan,
Chair Zakir Mahmood and members of the AKU Board of Trustees,
Leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of AKU,
Family members of the graduands,
And most importantly, our shining stars of today, the members of the Class of 2024:

As-salaam-o-alaikum​, good evening and welcome, Khush-amdid, to today’s Convocation. I am so grateful that all of you have joined us to celebrate our newest graduates. Thank you.

We have come together at a unique moment in the life of AKU. On February 4th, we lost our Founder and Chancellor of more than four decades, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. With his passing, AKU lost its visionary guide, its greatest advocate, and a powerful source of inspiration. And the world lost one of its foremost humanitarians. A man of peace, our founding Chancellor worked tirelessly to alleviate suffering, build people’s capacities, and advance the development in particular of Asia and Africa.

While we reflect on this tremendous loss, we warmly appreciate the tributes to His Highness received from leaders, partners, and friends far and wide. We are extremely grateful to the Government of Pakistan for their condolences and their words and actions recognising His Highness’s extraordinary legacy in Pakistan. As we know, the Government declared a day of mourning on February 8^th, which is deeply appreciated not only by the Aga Khan Development Network, but by colleagues and friends and countries around the world.

We know that the link between the Aga Khan family and Pakistan is indeed a strong and enduring one. Our founding Chancellor’s lifelong dedication to building strong institutions in Pakistan expanded on the far-reaching contributions of his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III, in the country’s creation. We know that the Aga Khan III served as the first president of the Muslim League and led the campaign to establish Aligarh University, an institution that we know played a leading role in the Pakistan movement.

Ladies and gentlemen, as we look back, we also look forward. Today, we welcome, with the greatest optimism, tremendous enthusiasm, and the highest hopes, His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan as the 50^th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, and AKU’s Chancellor. We pledge to His Highness our full support as he takes forward the leadership of the Aga Khan Development Network. We warmly wish him all the success and look forward to his continued and valuable guidance.

Princess Zahra, I am delighted on behalf of all of us to welcome you as the AKU’s Pro-Chancellor. AKU has been the fortunate recipient of your wisdom and leadership for many years. It has benefitted tremendously from your deep desire to see it grow in excellence, impact, and scope. It will indeed be a great privilege, personal and professional, and for all of us, and an honour for my team and I to work with you in your new role.

We are also so delighted to welcome Princess Zahra’s children, Sara and Iliyan who are sitting right in front of me. I should tell you ladies and gentlemen, that Sara and Iliyan are visiting Karachi for the first time. They have travelled with us across East Africa and we had a Convocation in Kampala and then in Nairobi and then in Dar Es Salaam and now in Karachi, and they have taken the time to engage with us to visit AKU campuses of course, but also visit AKDN agencies and AKDN programmes. We wish them well and we look forward to welcoming them back again soon.

Our founding Chancellor once said that the cornerstone of his vision was opportunity – the opportunity to build a better life for oneself and one’s family. In Pakistan, His Highness created opportunities for millions of people through the Aga Khan Development Network. He did so, for example, through the schools of the Aga Khan Education Services. The hospitals and health facilities of the AKDN agencies involved in health. The social and economic development sparked by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. The financial services of HBL and Jubilee. The tourism encouraged by the Serena Hotels and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

And, of course, he did so through our University. We can never forget the immense effort and the vast resources that AKU’s Founder devoted to its creation. From its announcement in 1964, to the completion of its campus and hospital in 1985, two decades elapsed. Those years, as we know, brought war, economic stagnation, inflation, the challenges of obtaining land and approvals, changing conceptions of health care, the discovery that Karachi is a seismic zone, and a complete redesign of the campus. Through it all, His Highness never wavered in his commitment to building a university “on the frontiers of scientific and humanistic knowledge”.

Our Founder once said that it was inevitable that AKU would change over time. But one thing, he said, would never alter: “the mission of preparing graduates, women and men, to play constructive, worthwhile, and responsible roles in society”.

Looking out at the Class of 2024 today, I see, we all see, how right he was. I see, women and men who are, without question, ready to play their part in creating a world that is rich in opportunity.

Across our Convocation ceremonies in Pakistan today, and in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda over the last few days, 850 talented stars, shining stars are stepping forward into a new phase in their lives. After more than 40 years of preparing students to play constructive roles in their societies, we do not need to guess what they will do – because we have seen what the 19,000 fellow AKU graduates have achieved.

They will deliver health care of outstanding quality and compassion. Provide leadership in clinics, hospitals, schools, and civil society. Expand the boundaries of global knowledge and develop contextually relevant solutions to widespread problems. Study, work, teach, and research at some of the finest institutions in the countries and around the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, our graduates are not the only reason for optimism that I see, and I feel today.

AKU’s capacity for excellence has never been greater, as demonstrated by the honours its faculty are winning, and the international recognitions earned by its health facilities and academic programmes. Our research output is at an all-time high – triple what it was a decade ago! – and it is aimed squarely at solving crucial challenges. Here in Pakistan, our researchers are working to protect people against typhoid and tuberculosis, to advance the understanding of malnutrition, and to keep those most in need safe during heat waves. We’re using artificial intelligence to identify at-risk newborns in low-income communities. Using gene editing to search for a cure for blood diseases. And delivering insights that can expand learning capacities in Pakistan’s schools.

The University’s scope continues to grow, with nine new degrees launched in the last three years, including the bachelor’s programme in arts and sciences and a bachelor’s in education here in Karachi. Inspired by our Founder’s vision, AKU is now recognised by international standards, having been ranked amongst the top 150 universities in the world in several fields. We are deeply grateful for the unwavering support of our faculty and staff, our generous donors, our volunteers, partners, and alumni without whom these achievements would never have been possible.

All this, and more, bodes well. The future of our graduates is bright, and the future of our University is bright.

Graduates, in thinking of your bright futures, I am reminded of the words our Founder addressed to the Class of 2022, at the conclusion of what would be his final Convocation message. I will echo them today.

My wish for all of you is that you will experience the joy of planting hope in people’s lives. The rewards of building bridges of understanding between people of different backgrounds. And the thrill of venturing into the uncharted waters where new knowledge is discovered.

The seeds of hope you plant, the bridges you build, and the knowledge you create will be a rich addition to the remarkable legacy our founding Chancellor has left here in Pakistan.

Dear graduates, congratulations once again, Mubarak, and welcome to the ranks of the alumni of the Aga Khan University.

Thank you.