Our Chief Guests

​Pakistan

*With His Highness t​he Aga Khan in attendance.​

​March 20, 1989​​​*

Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan and Patron, AKU

Keynote Speaker Halfdan Theodor Mahler, Director General, World Health Organisation

November 11, 1989

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Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, Governo​​r, Sindh

Keynote Speaker William B. Greenough, President, International Child Health Foundation

November 17, 1990*

Mahmoud Haroon, Governor, Sindh

November 16, 1991*

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister, Pakistan

November 21, 1992

Muhammad Azfal Zullah, Chief Justice, Pakistan

November 20, 1993

Noor Jehan Panezai, Deputy Chairman, Pakistan Senate

November 19, 1994*

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Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister, Pakistan

Keynote Speaker Geraldine Anne Kenny-Wallace, President, McMaster University

November 17, 1995

Kamaluddin Azfar, Governor, Sindh

November 23, 1996*

His Highness the Aga Khan, Chancellor, AKU

November 22, 1997

Elahi Bux Soomro, Speaker, Pakistan National Assembly

November 15, 1998

Ajmal Mian, Chief Justice, Pakistan

Keynote Speaker Peter James George, President, McMaster University

November 13, 1999

Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Chief Justice, Sindh High Court

October 21, 2000*

Pervez Musharaf, Chief Executive, Pakistan

November 3, 2001

Irshad Hasan Khan, Chief Justice, Pakistan

​​​​Keynote Speaker Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, Former Chairman, AKU Board of Trustees

November 2, 2002

Muhammad Mian Soomro, Governor, Sindh

December 6, 2003*

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Prime Minister, Pakistan

November 27, 2004

Ishratul Ibad Khan, Governor, Sindh

December 3, 2005*

Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister, Pakistan

December 2, 2006*

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Muhammed Mian Soomro, Chairman, Senate of Pakistan

​Installation of Firoz Rasul as President, AKU

November 17, 2007

Shamshad Akhtar, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan

November 29, 2008

Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Chief Minister, Sindh

December 12, 2009

Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK

November 23, 2010

Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, Secretary, Health (Morning)

​Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Chief Justice, Sindh High Court (Afternoon)

November 12, 2011

Suraiya Dalil, Acting Minister, Public Health, Afghanistan. Read speech...

November 17, 2012

Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Minister, Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs and Statistics

December 19, 2013*

Ishratul Ibad Khan, Governor, Sindh

November 29, 2014

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Academy Award Winning Filmmaker. Read speech...

November 28, 2015

Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, Humanitarian

November 19, 2016

Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister, Sindh

December 3, 2017

Mohammad Zubair, Governor, Sindh​

December 1, 2018

Rosh​aneh Zafar, Founder, KASHF Microfinance Bank Ltd.​​​​​​​​​​ ​Read speech...

​​November 30, 2019

​Dr Sania Nishtar​, Special Assistant to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty AlleviationRead speech...

May 22, 2021​

​Melinda French Gates, ​Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Read speech​...

February 26, 2022

​Dr Peter Kalmus, Climate Scientist and Author​. Read speech...

​March 18, 2023

​Syed Murad Ali​ Shah, Chief Minister, Sindh. Read speech...​​

February 17, 2024

Honorable Ezekiel Machogu​, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Education. Read speech...​​​