The Living Scripts | Asad Ali Shah (Former DG, ADB)

Former Director General Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asad Ali Shah was the guest for the seventeenth session of IPS program ‘The Living Scripts’, which was held on January 8, 2021.

Opening
up about his early life, the speaker said that he was born in Lahore and had
his early education from the same city. He added that he would read a lot of
books during his school days and has continued this habit to date.

Talking
about his higher education, Shah apprised that he completed his Master’s degree
from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore with a gold
medal and then moved to Canada to pursue his Ph.D. in structural engineering.
He later returned to the country and turned up for competitive exams, passing
which with good grades he started his career as a CSP officer in the
Planning and Development Department.

Sharing
his experiences of the Planning and Development Department, Shah said that
after the devastating earthquake of 1977 in Punjab, he headed the rehabilitation
program which helped many people get back to their routine lives. Additionally,
he headed many other major development programs across Pakistan as well,
including Hayatabad Housing Society and Simli Dam projects.

The
speaker later joined Asian Development Bank (ADB) as part of a professional
staff, and went on to acquire the highest position of Director-General in the
organization. He then returned to Pakistan once again and joined the National
Commission of Pakistan.

Shahi apprised that he has served in many other state institutions as well apart from the ones mentioned above, and is currently associated with the Global Think Tank Network (GTTN) in Islamabad.