Jahangir Siddiqui

In 1971, Siddiqui founded Jahangir Siddiqui & Co. Ltd, which by growth and acquisition eventually became the JS Group of companies.[1] Today, the JS Group of companies includes businesses that are a part of JS Financial, JS Industrial, JS Infocom, JS Property, JS Resources and JS Transportation.[2] JS Financial is the oldest of the group's businesses, and includes Jahangir Siddiqui & Co. Ltd., JS Global Capital Limited, JS Bank Limited, JS Investments Limited and Bank Islami.[2]

To raise money to start the company after his father's initial refusal to lend him Rs 6,000 to start a business, Siddiqui secretly stole and sold his family's car to a junk dealer for Rs1,800, along with the family's two-year stock of wheat and coal, all of which were stored in the family's house at the time.[1] When discussing this start as a businessman, Siddiqui said, "Positive thinking distinguishes an entrepreneur from the rest of the crowd. He’s never deterred by difficult circumstances.”[1]

On May 15, 1962, with the support of his family, Siddiqui became a local distributor of ice cream and Coca-Cola.[3]

In 1966, he completed a bachelor's degree in commerce, and began training as a chartered accountant in 1967.[3] His interest in stock markets eventually led him to start his own company in October 1971.[1]

By the time he retired from the company in 2003, JS Group comprised a range of businesses with over 18,000 employees.[1]

Siddiqui and his wife Mahvash went on to found the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation, a charitable, non-profit organization[4] focusing on healthcare, education, sustainable development through social enterprise and emergency relief in Pakistan.[5]

In December 2010, Siddiqui was placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) for alleged land grabbing in Karachi which alleged that Jahangir Siddiqui had illegally occupied a plot of 1,000 square yards in Karachi in connivance with the owner of an estate agency, using forged documents.[6][7] Additional Executive District Officer (AEDO) Revenue Mustafa Jamal Qazi maintained that it had become a practice that land that was awarded to the government was being grabbed by "land mafia...for its vested interests."[6] Pakistan's Anti-Corruption Establishment arrested several in conjunction with the case in December.[8]

Siddiqui sued a group of individuals, including the Anti-Corruption Establishment director and a member of EDO Revenue for defamation, indicating that the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee had evaluated land in 2001 and found the ownership of the property legal.[9] In response to the defamation claim, the Sindh High Court issued notices to the defendants, and they were summoned to appear before the court on 5 January 2011.[10] The court issued a restraining order preventing the defendants from "media attack" pending settlement of the matter.[9] The Pakistan Observer characterised these events as a "character assassination campaign" against Siddiqui.[11]

On 29 November 2011 the court ruled that the allegations were "false and baseless" and that such cases should not be filed in the future.[12]

He is the brother of the television director, producer and businessperson Sultana Siddiqui,[13] and the uncle of her son, businessman Shunaid Qureshi.[14]