Ali Jehangir Siddiqui

Ali Jehangir Siddiqui was born to Jahangir Siddiqui, a Pakistani businessman & Mahvash Jahangir Siddiqui, an educationist on 5 December 1976. At 15 years of age, he launched a technology business[9] called Advance Micro Research which integrated computer network systems for corporations.[10]

Family

Jahangir Siddiqui founded Jahangir Siddiqui & Co. Ltd in 1970.[11] This later became JS Group, an investment holding company with Rs. 413 billion (US$3.7 billion) in assets as of December 2017.[12] The Group claims to employ more than 20,000 people in Pakistan and has invested in several companies in various sectors.[13]

Siddiqui's mother, Mahvash Siddiqui, is the Chairperson of the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation (MJSF), a charitable foundation. An educationist by profession, she was a Professor of English Literature and Head of the English Department at Khatoon-e-Pakistan College, Karachi.[14]

Siddiqui is married to Saira M. Siddiqui, a Montessori teacher by profession.[15]

Entrepreneurship

Siddiqui has invested and worked with partners for setting up various businesses, including:

• Airblue[16]
• Arabian Gulf Steel (a steel producer in the UAE)[17]
• Jura Energy (a Canadian oil and gas company with operations in Pakistan)[17]
• RAK Ghani Glass (the largest pharmaceutical glass producer in the UAE and GCC countries)[18]

Previously he was Chairman and Chief Investment Officer[19] at JS Private Equity Management.[20]

Board Memberships

The Global Artificial Intelligence Unicorn, Afiniti International Holdings, revised its advisory board at the start of 2019, appointing Ali Jehangir Siddiqui as the member of Advisory board[21] with Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron joining as Chairman of the Board.[22]

He has previously been a member on the boards of the following institutions:

Government

• Board member of the Community Development Board (CDB) of the Government of Sindh[23]
• Board member of the Private Sector Task Force of the Planning Commission of the Government of Pakistan[24]
• Board member of the Board of Investment of the Government of Sindh[25]
• Board member of the Privatization Commission of the Government of Pakistan[26]

Until he took up his government roles, Siddiqui was the CEO of the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation (MJSF), which provides grants to the education, humanitarian relief, healthcare and social enterprise sectors in Pakistan. During the floods which struck Pakistan in 2010 onwards, MJSF established refugee camps housing more than 10,000 displaced individuals, providing food supplies to over 20,000 people and clean water for over 100,000 people during the 4-month relief operations period. MJSF worked in coordination with the UN agencies and INGOs.[27]

He served on the board of Acumen, a global social enterprise investment firm, for 9 years.

Ambassador to the US

In March 2018, he was appointed as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States and commenced his duties on 29 May 2018.[28]

Prior to his appointment as the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleged that Siddiqui was involved in matters relating to three companies: Azgard, Agritech, and Monte Bello which caused losses to investors and shareholders.[29] On the contrary, other reports suggest that the allegations from NAB are without any evidence and politically motivated as the Azgard and Agritech matters were already sub-judice prior to Siddiqui's appointment and Siddiqui was neither a party nor a respondent in these proceedings. Siddiqui had also left the board of directors of Montebellos parent company 4 years prior to its bankruptcy. The counterclaims, thus, indicate that the allegations in the investigation were an attempt to defame him and impede his appointment as ambassador.[30]

Siddiqui's reputation and work was acknowledged by US commentators[31] while it has been frequently criticized by Indian media.[32]

In June 2018, Siddiqui presented his credentials to US President Donald Trump.[33]

In July 2018, Siddiqui met James Mattis, the US Secretary of Defence. The meeting took place at the Pentagon where Siddiqui received a guard of honor on behalf of Pakistan.[34]

During celebrations for Pakistan's 71st Anniversary of Independence in August 2018 at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Ambassador Alice Wells, the chief guest at the event, acknowledged Pakistan's sacrifices against terrorism and stated that Sididqui was "an important player here" and that "everyone in town has met you and is talking about the energy you bring to the job."[35]

In October 2018, the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced a change in Pakistan's ambassadorial appointments to multiple countries including the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Serbia, Cuba amongst others. The individuals being changed were appointed during the regime of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).[36]

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister

Soon after Shahid Khaqan Abbasi became Prime Minister of Pakistan, Siddiqui joined the Government and served as a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister with the status of a Minister of State from August 2017 until May 2018.[37]

Ambassador For Foreign Investment

On 13 June 2019, Ali Jehangir Siddiqui was appointed as the Ambassador for Foreign Investments in Pakistan in an Honorary Capacity.

Under his tenure due to the efforts of the current government in encouraging foreign and local investments in the country, Hutchison Port Holdings – Hong Kong-based port operator—has committed on 15 October 2019 to invest US$240 million in Karachi Port in order to make it a major trading hub.[38]

The Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan received the delegation of the group in October 2019, led by their Managing Director, Eric Ip. Many other Pakistani dignitaries attended the meeting, including Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, Advisor to PM on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood, Special Assistant to PM Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Ambassador at Large for Foreign Investment Mr. Ali Jehangir Siddiqui, Chairman Board of Investment Zubair Haider Gilani and other senior officials.

As Special Assistant to the Prime Minister in 2017 and 2018, Siddiqui participated as a member of the Prime Ministers delegations to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings,[39] UN General Assembly,[40] Shanghai Cooperation Organization's Council of Heads of Government Meetings and the World Economic Forum Annual Meetings.[41]

Siddiqui’s early education consisted of:

• 1995: Karachi Grammar School
• 1999: BA Economics, Cornell University
• He has also pursued additional educational courses at MIT, the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.[42]

Later, he lectured at various institutions, including:

• 2012: College of William and Mary in Virginia.
• 2013: National School of Public Policy in Lahore.
• 2014: National Defence University in Islamabad.[43]
• 2018: Entrepreneurship and Management Excellence Center at Institute of Business Management in Karachi.[44]
• 2018: School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC
• Additional courses from MIT, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford

Siddiqui was listed by Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue as amongst the top 100 individual taxpayers in Pakistan for the year 2013.[45] In 2014, he was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.[46]

Siddiqui has earlier been called by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with respect to allegations that one of his companies, Azgard Nine Limited (ANL) had manipulated its stock price resulting in financial losses to investors. Despite passage of several years, no allegations have yet been proved and Ali Siddiqui has based his defence on the premise that he was neither a party nor a respondent to the cases which negates any connection with the same. After the span of 1.5 years, NAB dismissed the case due to inability to establish facts. All allegations were dropped and Siddiqui was cleared by the court of law.[47]