Prof Yunus, Amjad Saqib among 20 South Asian icons nominated for global ‘impact’ poll

• Prof Yunus, Akhuwat’s founder lead humanitarian race with Prof Hafi, Wickramasinghe top science category

• Quarticentennial Gazette spotlights 21st-century changemakers

LAHORE: The Impact Hallmarks (IH) has announced the nomination of 20 distinguished icons from South Asia and China—including Pakistan’s Dr. Amjad Saqib, Bangladesh’s Prof. M. Yunus, India’s Kailash Satyarthi, and Nepal’s Pushpa Basnet—for the international opinion poll of the Quarticentennial Merited Impacts Gazette, a global platform dedicated to identifying and documenting the most transformative contributions of the first quarter of the 21st century.

According to a press release issued here on Thursday, early signals from the nominations place three towering figures at the forefront: two giants of humanitarian transformation—Prof. M. Yunus and Dr. Amjad Saqib—who appear to be shaping the Humanitarianism category, alongside Prof. Dr. Aurangzeb Hafi and Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe, who are emerging as leading contenders in the Scientific Endeavours quadrant.

Prof. Aurangzeb Hafi, a polymath and cross-disciplinary researcher, has earned recognition for synthesising insights across cosmology, biology, environmental science, public health, and digital education. His work spans conceptual innovations such as Magneto-Hydro-Tropism (MHT) and the IRT Terato-kinetics model, alongside applied research on COVID-19 outbreak dynamics and environmental toxicity.

During the 21st century’s mega-disaster—declared a ‘generation-defining upheaval’—the 2004 Asian tsunami, Prof. Hafi served as the principal investigatory head of the ‘Child Retardation Risk Assessment’ (CRRA) and ‘Child Retardation Risk Management’ (CRRM) programmes. He maintained key liaisons with the United Nations and other international platforms in the hard-hit regions of Sri Lanka. Unlike many contemporary researchers who relied on readily available data, he undertook field visits to high-risk zones to collect first-hand information rather than depend on duplicated statistics. In recognition of these exceptional research contributions during the tsunami, Prof. A. Z. Hafi was knighted in the de jure supreme knighthood category and was subsequently nominated for the Nobel Prize in 2006, which he declined on principled grounds, citing objections to funding mechanisms linked to the manufacture of dynamite and other explosives.

Beyond academia, Prof. Hafi has advanced conservation initiatives and educational reform, most recently introducing the Deca-Archic Phygital Literacy Model—a framework aimed at redefining learning in an increasingly hybrid physical-digital world.

In the Humanitarianism quadrant, Dr. Amjad Saqib stands out as a pioneering architect of social solidarity through the founding of the Akhuwat Foundation, widely regarded as the world’s largest interest-free microfinance network. Since 2001, the organisation has disbursed billions in Qardh-e-Hasna loans, enabling millions to rise out of poverty with dignity.

In the same category, Prof. M. Yunus—a Nobel Peace Prize laureate—remains a defining force in reimagining economic inclusion. By extending collateral-free microcredit to the poorest, including marginalised communities such as beggars often excluded from formal banking, Yunus catalysed a global movement in social business. Now serving in a leadership role within Bangladesh’s interim governance framework, his enduring legacy underscores the transformative power of trust-based economic systems.

Other notable humanitarian nominees include Parveen Saeed, founder of Karachi’s Khana Ghar community kitchen; Kailash Satyarthi, whose decades-long campaign has liberated tens of thousands of children from child smuggling and exploitation; Dr. Jehan Perera, a leading voice for reconciliation and human rights; and Pushpa Basnet, recognised for her pioneering work supporting children of incarcerated parents.

In the Legacy Memorial quadrant, the late Bilquis Edhi is honoured for her lifelong service through the Edhi Foundation. She is joined by Dr. Ruth Pfau, who led Pakistan’s historic fight against leprosy, and Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement.

In the Scientific Endeavours category, Pakistan’s Prof. Hafi is joined by a distinguished cohort, including Dr. Fathima Benazir J., recognised for innovations such as the plant-derived fluorescent dye “tinto rang” and the RNA Wrapr transport medium; Nitesh Kumar Jangir, inventor of the neonatal breathing device “Saans”; and Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe, renowned for his pioneering work on cosmic dust and cometary panspermia.