The Oxford Pakistan Programme (OPP) celebrated a remarkable achievement at its Annual Fundraising Dinner, held at Lady Margaret Hall. The event successfully secured transformative pledges for three new scholarships and a £100,000 endowment, aimed at empowering Pakistan’s most promising students.
Interloop Ltd, a leading Pakistani exporter, represented by businessman and philanthropist Musadaq Zulqarnain TI, committed funding for a scholarship for the next three years. Prominent British Pakistani philanthropists Munir Hussain, who operates one of the largest food chains in the UK, and Aneel Musarrat each pledged support for a full OPP graduate scholarship for the next five years. This crucial additional funding will enable Pakistan’s most deserving and talented scholars to pursue higher education in Oxford University’s highly competitive programs, including advanced computer science, theoretical physics, mathematics, genome medicine, and numerous other cutting-edge fields.
Adding significant momentum, Professor Sarwar Khawaja announced a generous £100,000 gift to the OPP’s endowment fund, a contribution that will bolster the OPP’s long-term sustainability and institutionalization.
The dinner, sponsored by Oxford alumni Dr. Omer Suleman and Shamyl Malik (co-founders of financial technology firm Haruko), brought together a distinguished gathering of donors, academics, and OPP supporters to celebrate the program’s impactful work. Since its inception, the OPP has awarded nearly £1 million in student support to 52 scholars, many originating from underserved regions in Pakistan such as Sindh, Balochistan, and South Punjab, enabling them to study at Oxford.
The OPP’s co-founders highlighted Pakistan’s urgent demographic reality, noting that two-thirds of its population is under 30. This demographic fuels an unprecedented demand for educational opportunities. Within this generation are brilliant minds who have the potential to become Pakistan’s future thought leaders and change-makers, to whom the OPP is dedicated to providing opportunities and hope. Throughout the evening, emphasis was also placed on the need to cultivate educational aspiration and achievement within the British Pakistani community, empowering them to make positive contributions to British society and public life.
Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, a long-standing OPP advocate, delivered a powerful keynote speech, affirming: “When you support the OPP, you invest in Pakistan’s greatest resource: its youth. These scholars will return to lead industries, shape policies, and transform communities—creating ripples of progress for generations.”
Attendees at the event included Dr. Mohammad Faisal, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK, Ms. Naz Shah MP, Professor Stephen Blyth, Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Professor Sir Aziz Sheikh, as well as prominent business leaders, professionals, and academics from across the UK. The event featured compelling testimonials from OPP scholars and expressed gratitude to cornerstone donors, including Malala Yousafzai, Ali Tareen, the government of Balochistan, the COSARAF Foundation, the Dunya Foundation, and a growing community of philanthropists supporting partial scholarships. These include: Suleman Raza, Hamid Ismail, Professor Stephen Blyth, Areeb Azam, Ammad Ahmad, Syed Babar Ali, Syed Sheharyar Ali, Pir Muhammad Sadiq, Farouq Sheikh OBE and Haroon Sheikh through the COSARAF Foundation, Amir Hashmi, Mian Amer Mahmood through the Dunya Foundation, Abdul Ghani Dadabhoy, Mohammad Khaishgi, Professor Sarwar Khawaja, Dr Tariq and Abida Zaman, Ahmed Owais Pirzada, Sheraz Mehmood, Areeb Azam, Omar Ghauri, and Asad Ghauri.
Dr. Adeel Malik commented: “With these new pledges, the OPP moves closer to its founding mission: to ensure that no Pakistani or British Pakistani student offered a place at Oxford is ever turned away due to financial barriers. The OPP is a pioneering access initiative creating pathways for talented Pakistani and British Pakistani students to pursue Oxford degrees, fostering future leaders committed to national progress. The OPP is led by myself, Dr. Talha J Pirzada, Lecturer in Materials Science, Haroon Zaman, a corporate lawyer in London, and business leader Minahil Saqib.”
