Renowned Pakistani economist, philosopher, politician and Islamic scholar Prof. Khurshid Ahmad passed away in Leicester, UK, on Sunday after a protracted illness, his family and party confirmed. He was 93.

Born on March 23, 1932 in Delhi, India, Ahmad served in key positions during his illustrious career, including being elected three times as a member of Pakistan's upper House, the Senate, and serving as deputy chief of the country's Planning Commission along with being the author of several books on Islamic literature, economics and social issues.

After the partition of India in 1947, his family moved to Pakistan and settled in Lahore.

He enrolled at the prestigious Government College, which has since become a university, to study business and economics in 1949.

Ahmad earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of Karachi in 1962 and travelled to the UK to pursue a doctoral degree, receiving it from the University of Leicester in 1968.

In 1970, Leicester University awarded him with an honorary doctorate in Education, and in the same year, he joined the department of philosophy there to teach contemporary philosophy.

Islamic economics

He served as president of Islami Jamiat Talaba, the country's largest student organisation, for two terms in the 1950s and as deputy chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the country's mainstream religiopolitical party, for nearly two decades until 2015.

Together with another prominent religious scholar, Ahmad founded the UK Islamic Mission, which later became one of the largest Muslim organisations in the UK.

He was also a founding member of the Institute of Policy Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank on public policy.

His work in the field of Islamic economics helped develop Islamic economic jurisprudence.

He also edited Tarjuman-ul-Quran, a reputable Islamic magazine, for nearly two decades.

He was awarded the prestigious King Faisal International Prize in 1990 and the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence), Pakistan's highest civilian award, in 2011.