Governance

Board of Directors

Dr. Zaheer Ahmad (Late)

Founder

Starting his career as a lecturer in the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Punjab, Lahore; Dr. Zaheer Ahmad traveled a long way and was President & Chief Executive Officer Shifa International Hospital, Chairman Tameer-e-Millat Foundation and Shifa Foundation and Member BODs Society for International Help, USA. His educational assets comprise of degrees from within the country as well as from abroad. After acquiring educational as well as professional experience in the States, he wanted to return to his homeland and pay a tribute to it by building a state-of-the art institution. A premier healthcare institution, now renowned as Shifa International Hospital, was a brainchild of his. After seeing the initiation of the implementation of his idea, he endeavored further to make an effort to improve the educational scenario in the country. Tameer-e-Millat Foundation was then developed, which has now seen 20 years of functioning. The Hospital coupled with Shifa Foundation (A charity-based healthcare facility) is on the ride towards success since its inception. His vision of life runs thus: Not merely living, but living with quality means Life & Quality of Life is weaving highly ethical and moral values in one’s everyday living. Hence it is not necessarily an outcome of academic and materialistic procurements but the ultimate result of acquiring and practicing characteristics and values like Faith, Self-Realization, Truth, Honesty, Sincerity, Patience, Generosity & Benevolence, Pledges & Promises, Tolerance & Pardon, & a Heart Free from Rancor & Enmity.

Dr. Habib-Ur-Rahman

Chairman

Dr. Habib Ur Rahman is also serving as Director on the Boards of following Shifa International Hospitals Group companies:

  • Shifa Development Services (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa CARE (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa Medical Center Islamabad (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa National Hospital Faisalabad (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa Neuro Sciences Institute Islamabad (Private) Limited 

Dr. Habib Ur Rahman graduated from King Edward Medical College. He received his internal medicine training at D. C. General Hospital, Howard University, Washington D.C. and Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan and Wright State University, Dayton Ohio. He completed his fellowship of Cardiovascular Disease from Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut. He is Board Certified by American Board of Internal Medicine and also American Board of Cardiovascular Diseases. He has extensive experience in cardiology as well as in education, training and management. He has been Consultant Cardiologist and Head of Cardiology at Graham Hospital, Canton, Illinois and later at Byrd Regional Hospital at Leesville, Louisiana in USA. In addition to teaching experience in Wright State University, Connecticut he is presently member of the Senate of Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University. He has been member of different scientific councils and committees including Pakistan Lifesavers Foundation, Pakistan Cardiac Society and Faculty of Cardiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan. He is among the founding members of Shifa International Hospital and Shifa Foundation.

Dr. Zeeshan Bin Ishtiaque

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Zeeshan Bin Ishtiaque is an accomplished healthcare leader with a rich background in healthcare management, quality assurance, and corporate leadership. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Shifa International Hospitals, a 500-bed, JCI-accredited multispecialty facility.
Throughout his career, Dr. Zeeshan has made notable contributions to the society at large. He actively contributes to various international bodies, national clusters, and policymaking forums, championing improved healthcare quality. His involvement with Shifa Foundation and projects in collaboration with the United Nations underscores his commitment to societal betterment. Furthermore, he has been deeply engaged with several government and non government organizations, demonstrating his dedication to uplift communities.
Prior to his current role, Dr. Zeeshan served as the Chief Medical Officer, where he consistently raised the healthcare standards, provided strategic leadership, fostered a culture of excellence, and ensured strict compliance with international standards and regulations.
His global influence is also evident in his role as an International Physician Surveyor and Team Lead for Joint Commission International. With his expertise, he has conducted surveys in nearly 50 countries, making a significant impact on healthcare services and patient safety worldwide.
Dr. Zeeshan earned his MBBS from Nishtar Medical College Multan, Pakistan, in 2005. He later pursued an MD in 2009 and a DCPS-Healthcare Systems Management degree in 2011. He is recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a Fellow of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians, and holds the distinction of being a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality

Dr. Manzoor H. Qazi

Director

Dr. Manzoor H. Qazi is serving as Director on the Boards of following Shifa International Hospitals Group companies:

  • Shifa Medical Center Islamabad (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa National Hospital Faisalabad (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa Neuro Sciences Institute Islamabad (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa International DWC-LLC

Dr. Manzoor H. Qazi is a founding member of Shifa International Hospital and has been a board member since its inception. He was appointed as Chief Executive of the company on 10th October 2011 and remained the Chief Executive till March 30, 2023.  He received his medical degree from King Edward Medical College Lahore. Later he was trained in USA at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Chicago and Flushing Hospital in New York for Internal Medicine and later in Louisiana State University for Cardiology. He is Board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology from American Board of Internal Medicine and Cardiology. He has an extensive experience of practice of cardiology as well as administration and management. He was Consultant Cardiologist and President Medical Staff at Byrd Regional Hospital, Leesville, Louisiana for several years. He has also served as President of local chapter of American Heart Association and State Medical Society. He previously has been fellow American College of Cardiology, American Chest Physician and American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review for Physicians. He was actively involved in the initial planning and founding stages of Shifa and later on in the management of the Hospital and has been Medical Director of Shifa International Hospitals Limited since its conception, through planning and implementation until when he accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Qazi retired from the office of Chief Executive Officer on March 30, 2023 and is now working as a Director of the Company. He is also member BOG of Shifa Foundation, a non-profit organization involved in healthcare for poor and medical education.

Mr. Muhammad Zahid

Director

He is a healthcare professional with enviable experience, is a founding member of the team that conceived and built Shifa International Hospitals Limited. His association with Shifa dates back to 1985 when a group of Pakistani Americans, mainly healthcare professionals, started developing the idea of a world-class hospitals chain in Pakistan — the country of their origin. Zahid is a graduate of University of Karachi with major in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Later on he graduated from the USA in the discipline of Business Administration & Economics. Zahid’s expertise and career encompasses diversified areas including Healthcare Projects, Hospital Management and Leadership Development. He established and successfully ran healthcare related businesses in the USA for over 30 years. Simultaneously he remained associated with the landmark project of Shifa International Hospitals Islamabad; besides his critical role in administration, Zahid had major contribution in the strategic development and growth of the Hospital as a member of the Board of Directors. As a founder member, he closely worked with Center Research Inc. (CRI) — a Princeton, New Jersey based hospital design consultancy firm — to design and develop the initial hospital plan to ensure realization of the founder team’s concepts. This involvement continued till the development of a master plan in 1989. Following this, Zahid moved to Islamabad and gave quality input in the development of business processes, procedures, system development in different areas of the hospital and leadership development at different and diversified levels till 1997. His contribution in the development of this new hospital had far-reaching impact on the growth of the organization in the years to come and was highly commended by his colleagues. After playing his part in setting Shifa International Hospitals to a smooth sailing, Zahid returned to the USA in 1997 but always made himself available to the team at Shifa when and where needed to cope with the emerging business challenges. Towards the end of 2014, nevertheless, he bade farewell to his engagements in the USA and again returned to Islamabad at a time when Shifa needed him to explore newer areas and develop new sites. 

Mr. Qasim Farooq Ahmad

Vice Chairman

Mr. Qasim Farooq Ahmad is also serving as Director on the Board of 

  • Shifa CARE (Private) Limited 
  • SIHT (Private) Limited

Mr. Qasim Farooq Ahmad brings young blood and new dimension to the Board of Shifa International Hospitals. He did his Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Stony Brook University, Stony Brook NY. He furthered his education with a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Columbia University, New York, in 2007. He has over 20 years of diverse experience in the technology sector focusing on production systems engineering with a strong background in software engineering. This includes 7 years of extensive experience working with high volume financial and reporting applications for companies on Wall Street such as Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. Current major responsibilities include change management, incident management, performance planning, capacity planning, business continuity planning and disaster recovery, Sarbanes Oxley compliance and vendor management for all Fund Systems which includes the Front, Middle and Back Office applications. His previous experiences as the lead developer for the NYC Law Department include analysis, design, development and implementation of different technical projects.

Dr. Samea Kauser Ahmad

Non-Executive Director

Dr. Samea Kausar Ahmad is also serving as Director on the Board of:

  • Shifa Development Services (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa Medical Center Islamabad (Private) Limited 
  • Shifa National Hospital Faisalabad (Private) Limited 

Dr. Samea is a graduate of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad. She joined the Board in 2011 and has been helpful in guiding the Board and the administration towards the future direction of the corporation. She has been serving as the Vice Chairperson of Tameere-Millat Foundation (TMF) for the past 10 years. Greatly inspired and influenced by the philanthropic work of her father, Dr. Zaheer Ahmad, she was determined to carry on the vision and legacy laid down by him. As Vice Chairperson, Dr. Samea governs the running and management of over 50 educational institutions in the TMF network, all across Pakistan. In addition, Dr. Samea also serves as a member of the Senate of the federally registered Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University

Syed Ilyas Ahmed

Independent Director

Syed Ilyas Ahmed has a long and illustrious career spanning over 45 years in healthcare management and its implementation. He has served in different capacities; Secretary, Scientific Governing Board and Head of Administration in Salahuddin University Hospital, Tripoli, Libya. After returning to Pakistan, he joined The Kidney Center, Karachi as its Chief Executive (1993 – 2000). Later he proceeded to Islamabad in Shifa International Hospitals Ltd and accepted the post of Chief Operating Officer (2001 – 2005). At present he is Chief Advisor Operations at Tabba Heart Institute, Karachi. During his phenomenal professional tenure, he successfully managed premier healthcare facilities, both in Pakistan and abroad. His acumen includes but not limited to, strategic planning, policies and procedures, budgeting and fiscal control, human resource, public relations and quality assurance management. He introduced ISO Quality Management System in Pakistan for the first time in 1995 and is known as Baba-e-ISO in quality conscious circles in Pakistan. Mr. Ahmed, during his university days was a Badminton Champion and accomplished Debater, Gymkhana Secretary and Magazine Editor of University of Karachi (1968-72). He was President of Sind Pharmacy Graduates Association (1970-72). He plays golf and has a refined taste in literature and shows keen interest in a wide range of aesthetic disciplines including culture and history.

Prof. Dr. Shoab Ahmed Khan

Non-Executive Director

Dr. Khan is a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. He is an inventor of 5 awarded US patents and has 350+ international publications. His book on Digital Design is published by John Wiley & Sons and is being followed in national and international universities. Dr. Khan has more than 25 years of industrial experience in companies in USA and Pakistan. He has been awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Civil), National Education Award 2001 and NCR National Excellence Award in Engineering Education. He is the chancellor of Sir Syed CASE Institute of Technology (SS-CASE IT) and founding member of Center for Advanced Research in Engineering (CARE). SSCASE IT is a federally chartered engineering institution that runs one of the largest post graduate engineering programs in the country and has already graduated 70+ PhDs and more than 2000+ MS in different disciplines in Engineering. Whereas CARE, under his leadership, has risen to be one of the most profound high technology engineering organizations in Pakistan developing critical technologies worth millions of US dollars for organizations in Pakistan. CARE has also made history by winning 12 PASHA ICT awards and 10 Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards while competing with the best products from advanced countries like Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia etc. Dr. Khan has served as Chairman of Pakistan Association of Software Houses (P@SHA) and as member of Board of Governance of three entities in the Ministry of IT and Commerce. He has also served as Deputy Chairman of National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC). He is also an adj. Professor of Computer Engineering at NUST College of EME. His book of Urdu poetry is recently published with title, “Kagazi ha parahan”. He is a member and focal person of Prime Minister Taskforces on Knowledge, Economy, Science & Technology and IT and Telecommunication.

Dr. Mohammad Naseem Ansari

Independent Director

Dr. Mohammad Naseem Ansari is also serving as Director on the Board of 

  • Shifa Neuro Sciences Institute Islamabad (Private) Limited 
  • SIHT (Private) Limited

Dr. Mohammad Naseem Ansari graduated from the Punjab University, Department of Pharmaceutical Science. He went for his postgraduate studies at Columbia University, New York City, USA and was granted a full talent scholarship. He has a very rich and illustrious career spanning over forty years both State side and upon his return to Pakistan. After the completion of his studies, he joined Mt. Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine, New York City for the internship and training program. He served there in different administrative capacities for about eighteen years. He returned Pakistan in 1988 and joined Shifa International Hospitals Limited from its inception and was assigned different roles such as Director Operations during the construction phase and Chief Operative Officer and Chief of Special Services once in operations. He was instrumental along with the other members in the establishment of Shifa College of Medicine in 1988 under the aegis of Shifa Foundation and became its first Chief Operating Officer. After the establishment of Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University in March 2012 he served at different administrative positions at STMU. He is a member of American Hospital Association and also the “Rho Chi” Honor Society, Columbia University, New York City, USA. He also served on the board of International School of Islamabad as a member and then as the Board Chair for a few years. He also has the honor and privilege of serving on the Board of Shifa International Hospitals Limited, Islamabad.

Mr. Javed K. Siddiqui

Independent Director

Mr. Javed K. Siddiqui is also serving as Director on the Board of 

  • Shifa CARE (Private) Limited 
  • SIHT (Private) Limited

Mr. Siddiqui is a senior Chartered Accountant, fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Pakistan, and a “Certified Director” on the data bank listing of Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance. He has a very rich and diversified exposure spanning over 40 years, 2 continents, 4 countries and 11 industries including banking, oil and gas, manufacturing, FMCG, trading, hospitality, regulatory organization and consulting, and has worked with several multinationals. He has worked for 15 years in various countries and for 25 years in Pakistan, in the fields of corporate, organizational, financial, human resource, and I.T management, held progressively senior management positions in various multinational companies and large international & local organizations, both in private sector and public sector, and a regulatory authority. Mr. Siddiqui started his carrier in 1974 with PWc, (A. F. Ferguson & Co) Chartered Accountants, where he completed the requisite training for Chartered Accountants, after which he was hired by Smith & Nephew Pharmaceutical Co., a subsidiary of a British pharmaceutical and cosmetics company. Later he joined Pakistan Petroleum Ltd., the then subsidiary of Burma Oil Company, U.K., and worked in the Project & Development Division. He was then hired by Saudi Naval Forces to head their internal audit Department in Jeddah. On completion of 5 year term with Saudi Navy, he joined Unilever Pakistan Ltd., later moving on to Dubai in 1990 where he worked for 10 years for various organizations, his last assignment being with Dubai Investments. He has also worked for Toronto Dominion Bank in Canada as Financial Analyst. In the year 2000, Mr. Siddiqui was hired by a public sector financial institution in Islamabad, Pakistan, as its Chief Financial Officer with a mandate to restructure it and convert it into an incorporated entity amalgamating another public sector financial institution with it. He was a key member of the team that was responsible for the restructuring and amalgamation process & incorporation of SME Bank, which is still the only specialised bank catering to the needs of SME sector. On incorporation of SME Bank he was assigned additional responsibilities as Company Secretary of the Bank. After 4+ years with the Bank, Mr. Siddiqui then moved on to Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the apex regulator of the corporate sector and securities market, as Executive Director for Company Law Division, where he served for 8 years and headed various other Divisions as well. Since 2013, Mr. Siddiqui is a Partner in a Chartered Accountant and consulting firm in Islamabad. He has served on the Board of a Bank’s subsidiary leasing Company, Chairman of the Board of an I.T Company, and also performed as Acting CEO of a public sector financial institution. He has also served on the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan’s committee on ‘Public Sector’. This committee is responsible for interacting with the Auditor General and the Controller General Accounts officials on the adoption of IPSAS and corporate governance in State Owned Enterprises in Pakistan among other related areas. Mr. Siddiqui is a certified trainer and have conducted Directors Orientation Programme for the Board of Directors of a Bank. Travelled widely, attended numerous conferences, seminars and workshops in various countries, and spoken on international and national forums on professional topics

Company’s Auditor

M/s BDO EBRAHIM & CO.
(Chartered Accountants)

Company’s Legal Advisor

M/s Bashir Ahmad Ansari & Co.