The Aga Khan’s bond with Pakistan has been a special one and is deeply rooted in history. His ancestors played a pivotal role in championing the cause of Pakistan, offering political and intellectual momentum that contributed to its creation. But beyond this historical connection, his contributions were transformational, particularly in Pakistan’s most neglected regions, of which I am a beneficiary.
It is precisely for this reason that the more I reflect on the life and contributions of Aga Khan, the more they feel deeply personal. On Tuesday, as I rode my bicycle toward my university in Manchester, England, where I am pursuing a PhD, I could not stop thinking about the crucial opportunities provided by his network that shaped my life in Gilgit-Baltistan, where I grew up.
Like many other families in the north, education was always seen as the only path forward in my household, yet opportunities were scarce, and government schools in my native village of Yasin offered little. Fortunately, we lived in a region that had witnessed rapid intervention by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
I was admitted to the Diamond Jubilee (DJ) High School in Yasin and later to the Aga Khan Higher Secondary School in Gilgit. Both institutions stood apart from government-run and other privately run schools.
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