Dr. Ashfaque Hasan Khan

Dr. Ashfaque Hasan Khan is currently the Dean and Professor, NUST Business School, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Islamabad. He has been the Special Secretary Finance/Director General, Debt Office of the Ministry of Finance, Islamabad. He is also the Director and Vice Chairman of Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company Ltd. (A joint venture of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) and Director of the United Bank Limited (Representing government’s shares in the Bank). Dr.Khan holds a Ph.D degree in economics from the Johns Hopkins University in USA. He joined the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) in 1979 as Research Economist, where he held increasingly senior positions. He was Joint Director of the Institute before being appointed Economic Adviser of the Ministry of Finance in March 1998. In January 2003 he was appointed Director General of the Debt Office of the Ministry of Finance. He was appointed Special Secretary Finance/ Director General, Debt Office in July 2007.

As a key member of the Government’s economic team Dr. Khan played a pivotal role in salvaging a near bankrupt economy ofPakistan and putting it on the path of sustained high growth with financial stability. He was actively involved in preparing the reform program which was launched some eight years ago and provided vital policy inputs in framing the country’s macroeconomic policies. Dr.Khan was the member of the core team who negotiated with the IMF for various financial packages, implemented the programs and finally brought the country out of the IMF Program and thus restored the country’s financial sovereignty. As a member of the high level Debt Committee he was involved in the preparation of the Debt Reduction Strategy which was later adopted by the Government. The country’s current and future macroeconomic policies are centered around the same strategy. Dr. Khan played an important role in setting up the Debt Office in the Ministry of Finance. Within five years of pursuance of the same strategy the country’s debt situation is not only fast moving towards sustainable level but the country was able to prepay expensive external debt as well. Dr. Khan is the principal architect of the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act passed by the Parliament in June 2005. This Act has been designed to inject financial discipline in the country.

Dr. Khan has been actively involved in the floatation of Pakistan’s sovereign bonds including the Islamic bond (Sukuk) in the international debt capital market. He has also been involved in the issuance of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) and Exchangeable Bonds in international equity markets. He has been providing valuable policy inputs to the President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Secretary General Finance and Finance Secretary on various issues pertaining to the economy.

Dr. Khan’s past experience includes: visiting Lecturer at the Towson State University in USA and Visiting Fellow at the Kiel Institute of World Economics in Germany. He has also been the Consultant to many International Organizations/ Financial Institutions such as the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Asian and Pacific Development Centre, Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. As Consultant to the Secretary General, SAARC he has the honour of preparing the Regional Study on Trade, Manufacturers and Services which served the foundation for regional cooperation in South Asia including the establishment of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Dr. Khan has the distinction of being the most widely published economist of the country. He has published nine books and more than 170 articles in national and international journals of economic science. His papers have appeared in the most prestigious journals of economic science published from Harvard University and University of Chicago. Dr.Khan has also the distinction of being a student of a Nobel Laureate in economics, Professor Lawrence R. Klein.

He is a member of the United Nations Expert Group on World Economic Situation based at the United Nations Headquarter inNew York. He has been the editor, co-editor and the member of the Editorial Committee of the various prestigious journals of economic science. He has been the recipient of various awards from the National Book Foundation for publishing articles in International Journals of economic science. He is also the external examiner of Ph.D dissertation submitted to various Pakistani and foreign universities. Dr. Khan is a frequent speaker at the National Defense University, Pakistan Administrative Staff College, National Institute of Public Administration (NIPAs), the Army School of Logistics, Kuldana, Army School of Infantry, Nowshera and the Command and Staff College, Quetta.

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of economics and public policy the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has conferred the award of Sitara-i-Imtiaz to Dr.Khan.