Islamabad : In his motivational address to a special gathering at Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) SDC 2026 , former chief of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) , Dr Ishrat Hussain , gave a mindboggling message for young generations of Pakistan . Soft but confident , Dr Ishrat Hussain , narrated his journey spanning over over six decades of public service and managerial positions at the global financial institutions like the World Bank that sustainable and lasting success comes from honest hard work and dedication to one’s professional work . He said ” I tell Pakistani youngsters sitting here never give up to difficulties and irritants that come to your way during your journey to professional excellence” .
Dr Ishrat Hussain added that he started his journey of education in difficult circumstances from a government high school in Hyderabad and overcame all his shortcomings with dedication and hard work. He recalled that due to his short height and scary attitude his classmates used to make fun of him , but he overlooked ridicules and never looked back to make his own way with hard work to reach to top in his exams. Dr Ishrat Hussain argued that instead going for a typical way of enjoying a luxurious life as a civil servant he opted to invest in himself and took a challenging way of competing with global contestants to secure attractive positions in global institutions like the World Bank. He appreciated role of his wife and kids who stood with him in challenging times to become a Dr Ishrat Hussain who is sending today in front of you.
” I don’t deserve that praise and appreciation showered by other speakers on me in their speeches as they have exaggerated while referring to my role and contribution in making Pakistan’s institutions sustainable ” humble Dr Ishrat Hussain said in the outset of his speech.
The crux of his speech was that it’s hard work and honesty to your profession that make you a successful man at the end. He recalled that he always preferred to devise those policies and planning that help the poor scale up from poverty. Dr Ishrat counted the case of Bangladesh , Ghana and other countries whose leadership accepted his advise and it pull the people of those countries out of poverty.
Earlier , Philinthropist and industrialist , Syed Babar Ali, SBP Governor , Mr Jamil Ahmad , ex Governor Punjab , Shahid Zahid , former federal minister , Razak Daud, former Finance minister , Shaukat Tareen , former federal secretary , Nargis Seithi , Professor Adil Najam , counted Dr Ishrat Hussain’s successes as reformer , educationist , policy maker , head of Pakistan’s central bank and showered praise on him for making extremely important contribution in Pakistan’s socio -economic development.
SDPI ED , Dr Abid Qayyim Suleri , cited the lifetime award conferred on Dr Ishrat Hussain , for his unprecedented service to Pakistan as a policy-maker , head of SBP and in many other top official positions. Dr Abid Qayyim thanked Dr Ishrat Hussain for providing guidelines to SDPI and help it become a more active institution to provide policy inputs to the government.