Tuesday (February 4) saw the passing of Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, 49th hereditary Imam of the Nizari Ismailis at the age of 88 in Lisbon, Portugal. As spiritual leader of the Ismaili Shia Muslim community, the late Aga Khan leaves behind around 12 million Ismaili Muslims mourning his death. Known for his spiritual leadership as the head of the Ismaili sect, perhaps the late Aga Khan’s most lasting and impactful achievement was in his philanthropic work – especially in the field of development. He founded and was the chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a sprawling ecosystem of over 1000 programmes and institutions in over 30 countries, channelling approximately $1 billion per year in non-profit development activities. This network includes the Aga Khan University, the top-ranked medical college in Pakistan, the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the for-profit Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. The latter generates annual revenues of $4 billion, but all surpluses generated by its project companies are reinvested in further development activities, usually in fragile, remote or post-conflict regions. All of these institutions have played an arguably indispensable role in Pakistan, supporting early childhood education and services for over 15,000 children in rural and remote areas, benefiting over 400,000 households through physical infrastructure projects and health and nutrition services for over 1.1 million people. These are all areas in which the state currently struggles, enabling one to gauge just how vital the AKDN’s assistance has been.
As such, it is no surprise that the Aga Khan’s passing prompted condolences from a who’s who of leaders and prominent figures in Pakistan and those from the world of international development as well. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed him as a “man of vision, faith, and generosity" whose "enduring legacy will continue to inspire generations… through his tireless efforts in poverty alleviation, healthcare, and gender equality, he championed the cause of the marginalised, leaving an indelible mark on countless lives”. Similarly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his sadness at the Aga Khan’s passing in a post on X (formerly Twitter), calling him “a symbol of peace, tolerance and compassion in our troubled world”. Promoting development and charitable initiatives is one way of promoting peace and countering extremism, as the Aga Khan himself noted in a rare interview in 2007, but even more valuable is perhaps the ability to remain above the political fray while operating in the most fraught and divisive socio-political environments in the world. This is an achievement that has eluded many Western-based aid organisations. In this context, the trust placed in the AKDN by both local leaders and ordinary people in the Global South is very rare and well-earned.
With many in the West now tired of the imperial shenanigans of their leaders, it is perhaps unsurprising that their aid efforts are now in trouble. This means that the work of the AKDN, and similar organisations, will only become more important. And while the Aga Khan may no longer be with us, he leaves behind a legacy as close to unblemished as possible – one that will continue to reverberate through the years as the work of the institutions he built is continued by his successor.