The outstanding magnate and business philanthropist Rafiq M. Habib died at age 88, Habib University said Wednesday.
Rafiq was the former head of the conglomerate of the Habib Chamber, Chancellor of the Habib University and a member of the Board of Directors of the Stile Company. He was also president of the Foundation of Habib University.
“With deep sadness, Habib University cries the death of its founding chancellor, Rafiq M. Habib (1937-2025), and honors its lasting legacy,” said Habib University in an Instagram post.
Remembering him, the university team said: “A man whose quiet resolution and deep integrity shape at every step of this trip, Rafiq Sahab It was the moral and visionary force behind the creation of Habib University.
“His belief that education should serve the greater good continues to guide our mission. His living legacy in the institution that helped build and the generations to which he will continue to empower.”
According to the website of the University of Habib, RAFIQ was a “administrator of several well -being projects that cover a wide range of activities, including education, medical care, relief and rehabilitation.”
Rafiq actively participated in social welfare programs and had been serving as an administrator of “several well -being institutions that cover a wide range of social activities, being education the main approach, where the family directs their own schools and supports other schools that currently teach high quality primary education to more than 8,000 children,” Stiles said.
Rafiq had a “extensive commercial experience” in the insurance and banks industry, and promoted many companies, including Indus Motor Company Limited.
“He is a Rotary, a greater effective donor, supports the Poly Plus program and actively promotes street schools, schools at home, etc.,” the company added.
The businessman remained as Habib Bank Ag Zurich consultant, who has the Metropolitan Bank Habib as his subsidiary in Pakistan.
It also served for several years on the Board of Directors of Philips Electrical Company of Pakistan Ltd and was the first president of the Standard Chartered Bank advisory board in the country.
Wasif Rizvi, the president of Habib University, described Rafiq as an “imposing figure of vision, humility and a firm service, whose leadership and generosity laid the bases” of the University.
“Rafiq Sahib was the visionary of the legendary family Habib in imagining a world class institution of higher education that was founded in Karachi,” Rizvi wrote in a statement.
“His generosity was never a recognition, it was an act of devotion to knowledge, to the service and the belief that education is the most noble inheritance that one can give to society.”
