Zaheer Ahmed | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 October 1948 |
| Died | 7 October 2011 (aged 62) Jhang, Pakistan |
| Education | University of the Punjab[1] |
| Occupation | Medical doctor |
Zaheer Ahmad (Urdu:ظہیر احمد) was aPakistani American[1] medical doctor who was credited as being the founder and chief executive of theShifa International Hospitals in Islamabad. In 2011, he came under media attention when theUnited States accused him of being an associate of Dr.Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, a lobbyist from Kashmir and founder of the Kashmir American Council (KAC) who was charged for covertly attempting to lobby and influence theAmerican government on theKashmir conflict on behalf of theGovernment of Pakistan's interests (seePakistani lobby in the United States).[2][3][4][5]
Born in 1948, Ahmed obtained a master's degree inpharmacy from theUniversity of Punjab in Lahore and later became adoctor of medicine after pursuing studies ininternal medicine from abroad.[1] Apart from the Shifa Foundation, Ahmad also founded the Tameer-e-Millat Foundation, a non-government organisation (NGO) aimed at uplifting education.[6][7]
TheFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), after detaining and interrogating Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai charged Ahmad for having involvement with Fai in the scandal. However, Ahmad was living in, Islamabad,Pakistan at the time and was not apprehended by U.S. authorities.[2] The FBI maintained that the two had been participating in a long-term conspiracy to act as agents of the Pakistani government in the United States without disclosing their affiliation, which is illegal. Thus, both potentially faced a sentence of five years in prison if convicted.[1] Referring to Ahmad's shady contacts, one article published in the Indian newspaperHindustan Times even alleged that Ahmad was present during the much-publicised nuclear scientistSultan Bashiruddin Mahmood's alleged meeting withOsama bin Laden inAfghanistan one month prior to the September 11 attacks; it said thatAyman al-Zawahiri was also present at the meeting and that the discussion revolved around "building a nuclear bomb."[8] However, this allegation has never been proven or validated.
According to U.S. government officials, Fai and Ahmad lobbied for the Kashmir cause secretly rather than making a formal declaration, as is required legally per theForeign Agents Registration Act. It was claimed that the PakistaniInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) used Ahmad, who had contacts with the agency, as a channel through which they used to transfer large funds of money to Fai.[1]
On 7 October 2011, local media reported that Ahmad had died in Islamabad at the age of 63 due tobrain haemorrhage.[1][6] He left behind a widow and four children. His funeral was attended by many prominent politicians and bureaucrats and thesalat al-Janazah (funeral prayer) was led byQazi Hussain Ahmed.[1]The News International remarked that the country had been deprived of a patriot "who inspired a revolutionary change in the private health care sector of Pakistan through his stellar accomplishments."[9]
