By Ghualm Amin Beg
As the world pays homage to the life and contributions of Prince Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV, we are reminded of his extraordinary legacy—a legacy defined by participatory development, transformative investments, and an unyielding commitment to improving lives. Across Pakistan, particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, and beyond, his visionary leadership reshaped education, healthcare, culture, tourism, and financial systems, leaving an indelible mark on millions.
His approach was not merely about building infrastructure but about empowering communities to take charge of their futures. By prioritising quality of services and quality of life, he created a model of development that was both sustainable and inclusive. His work earned admiration from all quarters, inspiring generations to embrace progress with compassion and integrity.
From establishing world-class institutions to pioneering community-driven initiatives, his contributions transcended borders and sectors.
As we reflect on his life, we celebrate not just his achievements but the values he embodied: empowerment, equity, and ethical governance.
Continuing legacy
Building on the luminous legacy of his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III—the founding President of the All-India Muslim League and a benefactor of Pakistan—Prince Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV revitalised and expanded his network’s support for Pakistan. Main focus of his initiatives was excellence, innovation, meritocracy, and impact-oriented services and replicability of services and institutions reaching out to all communities.
Historic visit to G-B
Prince Aga Khan IV became the 49th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims in 1957. In 1960, he made history as the first Imam to visit Gilgit, Ghizer, and Hunza. When he was asked by a reporter, what he witnessed in Hunza, His Highness answered, “I saw horrible poverty there”, referring to the extremely miserable living conditions that existed at that time; over 80% of the population lived below the poverty line, surviving on less than a dollar a day; basic healthcare, infrastructure, and educational opportunities were non-existent.
Later he made many visits including his last visit in 2017 bringing new hope and happiness to the region.
Transforming healthcare
In the 1970s, under his guidance, the Aga Khan Foundation and Aga Khan Health Services launched maternal and child health programs in collaboration with government departments. Key initiatives included prenatal care, vaccinations, nutrition awareness, and training community health workers, reaching the unreached to provide low-cost health services in remote areas.
Over time, the AKHS and Aga Khan University Hospital significantly improved healthcare delivery in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, by providing affordable, and quality medical services with pioneering telemedicine connecting remote areas to specialists.
Revolutionizing education
Prior to 1960, Hunza had only one formal school established by the British and a dozen informal primary schools that were established between 1946 and 1960 under the Diamond Jubilee (DJ) Schools through on the directives and funding from Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah. In 1976, His Highness laid out the strategy and advised the new Central and Regional Education Board members to establish schools, train female teachers and enroll more girls and boys into the system on a priority basis.
By 1983, female enrollment in Diamond Jubilee Schools had risen by 56%, with upgradation of many schools. The establishment of the Aga Khan Girls Academy in Karimabad in 1983 marked a milestone for girls’ education in the region. In his inaugural speech at the foundation ceremony of the Academy he declared, it ….“will be our first High School and Hostel for girls in the Northern Areas and a landmark in our progress in Pakistan.”
Communities took ownership of educational projects through the Self-Help School Construction Program and fully participated in them. The Aga Khan Foundation invested in human capital by training female teachers and expanding scholarships to support higher education in fields such as teaching, nursing, medicine, agriculture, forestry, microfinance, and women’s development.
PDCN: Inaugurated by His Highness in 2000, the Professional Development Center North (PDCN) in Gilgit trains schoolteachers and administrators from both government and private sectors to adopt child-centered teaching methods and whole-school improvement programs. During the inauguration, His Highness remarked, “You can build new buildings, but if you cannot find quality men and women to implement the programmes and to give them the confidence that their Programme will be able to continue and grow in the future you’ve achieved nothing.”
This vision underscored the need for highly trained teacher educators and professional faculty to help communities achieve higher student achievement standards. The Aga Khan University Examination Board further strengthened education by enhancing learning, testing, and examination systems, improving school benchmarks and learning outcomes in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Economic empowerment
His Silver Jubilee in the early 1980s brought the gift of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), which doubled incomes for small producers through community-driven initiatives by introducing micro-projects, fostering economic resilience. This followed Accelerate Prosperity, First Microfinance Bank, and other initiatives supported entrepreneurship and financial inclusion, empowering small businesses and farmers. Tourism-focused investments through Serena Hotels boosted local employment and eco-tourism.
His Highness underlined that development programs he initiated were based on extensive surveys conducted since the late 1960s by his own institutions, which revealed that education and living standards in the region were below the national average. He stressed to community leaders that solutions should be accessible to all, regardless of ethnic and geographic background, and urged communities to collaborate rather than focus on differences. Institutions were encouraged to maintain merit, transparency, and the highest quality standards.
In an interview for the 1987 video documentary ‘Valleys in Transition’, His Highness underscored the objectives of AKRSP: “I think the first objective that I would have, and obviously the Programme alone is not going to achieve it, is to enable these people who live in the northern areas to live here at a standard of living at par with Pakistan. In other words, they should first catch up with the national standard of living.” He added that achieving this might transform the region into a “microeconomic area” in 15 to 20 years, fostering stability and economic soundness in this geopolitically sensitive region.
AKRSP introduced micro-projects with immediate impact, fostering economic resilience. His Highness emphasized the hardworking and resilient nature of the region’s people, highlighting their quick adaptation to development efforts.
Cultural preservation and innovation
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture spearheaded the restoration of iconic landmarks such as Baltit, Altit, Shigar, and Khaplu Forts, linking heritage preservation with economic growth.
Disaster resilience
Recognizing the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters, His Highness pioneered disaster preparedness initiatives through Focus Humanitarian Assistance. Community volunteers were trained for emergency response, while innovative building technologies safeguarded homes.
Focus Humanitarian Assistance conducted village readiness programs revitalized as Community-Based Disaster Risk Management programs, along with hazard and risk maps for at-risk villages. Thousands of volunteers trained by Focus provided disaster relief and recovery assistance during floods, earthquakes, and other crises. The Aga Khan Foundation’s helicopters played a crucial role in transporting materials and evacuating casualties during disasters.
Innovations in building techniques introduced by the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service reduced firewood consumption by 50%, protected forests, and improved household health. The Water and Sanitation Extension Program (WASEP) provided clean drinking water, reducing waterborne diseases by 60%.
A vision for sustainable peace
His Highness championed the coexistence of diverse cultures and pluralistic communities, emphasizing constructive dialogue among different societal groups. His initiatives promoted stability and resilience in fragile environments, underscoring the importance of ethical governance, sustainable development, and peaceful coexistence.
As a visionary leader, he was also conscious of the importance of enabling a peaceful environment and the limitations of civil society and continuity of public services in fragile state systems and democracies-in-transition in marginalised regions such as Gilgit-Baltistan and Central Asia.
In a speech at MIT in 1994, His Highness cited Tajikistan in Central Asia. Significant investments in infrastructure, food supplies, and social services under the Soviet Union created a well-educated and resourceful population that contributed both locally and across the Soviet Union.
However, after the Soviet collapse, the loss of subsidies-which had covered most of the Republic’s budget and up to 80% of food supplies in remote areas- led to widespread hunger, fuel shortages, and uncertainty. Ethnic tensions between different ethnicities resurfaced as different groups vied for power, while religion, once practiced secretly, re-emerged as a visible societal force.
The West has many strengths, prominent among them are science and democracy, liberal economics. The Muslim world offers deep roots in a system of values, emphasizing service, charity and a sense of common responsibility… The ex-Communist world…, made important investments in social welfare, with particular emphasis on the status of women, and was able to achieve impressive social cohesion.”
Prince Karim Aga Khan
Similarly, His Highness also discoursed the idea of constructive encounters between diverse cultures and pluralistic communities. In Tajikistan for example he mentioned three cultures (ex-Communist, Muslim and Western world) which have something to bring to the solution of the problems of the country.
“The West has many strengths, prominent among them are science and democracy, private institutions … liberal economics, and a recognition of human rights. The Muslim world offers deep roots in a system of values, emphasizing service, charity and a sense of common responsibility, and denying what it sees to be the false dichotomy between religious and secular lives. The ex-Communist world, although it failed economically, made important investments in social welfare, with particular emphasis on the status of women, and was able to achieve impressive social cohesion.”
In his Brown University speech in 1996, His Highness cautioned about the prerequisites that successful long-term process of human change requires in developing societies. “First-world knowledge can be introduced and creatively absorbed into third-world environments to assist in resolving some of its most challenging development problems”, he argued.
However, he mentioned that “success will depend, at least partially, on the adaptability of the knowledge to be shared, and the willingness and receptivity of the social structures that will be affected, as the social and cultural empathy which prepare any successful long-term process of human change from one society to another, are still deeply lacking.”
Moving forward, he underlined that if the development outcomes are to be sustainable, it is necessary to concentrate resources on the development of private institutions, of accountable public institutions and of human potential” to minimize the “risks of political pluralism, of ruthless competition and of concentration of wealth and climate change risks.”
A legacy of hope, empowerment
Prince Karim Aga Khan’s legacy is a testament to the power of visionary leadership. His development model will continue to inspire and guide us, reminding us that true progress is measured not by wealth or power, but by the lives we touch and the futures we help build.
To sum up, he was deeply inspired by Islamic ethics of governance and cooperation. He dedicated his efforts to improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable populations. His efforts were not merely charitable but transformational, fostering self-reliance, resilience, and dignity.
With the designation of Prince Rahim Al Hussaini Aga Khan V as the 50th Imam of the Ismailis, the legacy of hope, opportunity, and empowerment endures, promising a brighter future for marginalized regions and communities of Gilgit Baltistan and the wider region.
