By Zia Uddin
Behind every great university degree, there is a story of sacrifice. But behind thousands of them in Pakistan, there is one story most people have never heard — and one man who never wanted them to.
He did not build schools. He did not hold press conferences. He did not paste his name on walls or seek applause in crowded halls. He simply looked at a broken system, saw thousands of young lives slipping through its cracks, and quietly decided to catch them.
In Pakistan, a university degree has always been more than just a piece of paper. It is a doorway to a different life. But for thousands of students from financially struggling families and minority communities, that doorway has always been just slightly out of reach. Admission letters arrive, but fee deadlines cannot be met. Scholarships are few and competition is fierce. And so, quietly and without headlines, thousands of brilliant young minds step back from the threshold of their future — not because they lack ability, but because no one is there to hold the door open for them.
That is exactly the gap that Roshni Trust was built to fill. Established in 2014 and rooted at Quaid-i-Azam University, the trust has quietly become one of Pakistan’s most impactful student support initiatives, transforming the lives of more than one thousand financially disadvantaged and minority students who may otherwise never have completed their degrees.
The Man Behind the Mission
Some of the most powerful stories of generosity do not begin with wealth. They begin with struggle. The man behind RT knows that truth better than anyone.
Born and raised in Mingora, Dr. Anwar Shah began his educational journey in ordinary circumstances. From the modest classrooms of Government School Makan Bagh Mingora Swat, he moved on to Government Higher Secondary School Haji Baba and later to Jehanzeb College, one of Swat’s most prestigious institutions. He was ambitious, determined, and full of dreams. But life, as it often does, had other plans.
In December 1994, during the first semester of his Bachelor’s degree at International Islamic University Islamabad, his father passed away. He was a young student, far from home, suddenly without his family’s financial pillar and faced with a choice that thousands of Pakistani students confront every year: quit or find a way.
He found a way.
With partial support from generous friends he calls his “Tahreeki Companions,” small loans from family members whose sacrifices he still acknowledges with deep gratitude, and a personal resolve that never wavered, he completed his BS (Hons) and later his MSc in Economics at IIUI.
The road did not get easier. During his MPhil at Quaid-i-Azam University, he again leaned on the kindness of friends for fee support and received partial funding from a scholarship project by the Institute of Policy Studies in 2001 and 2002. Every step of his academic journey was a negotiation between ambition and circumstance — and each time, ambition prevailed.
Selected under the prestigious HEC Ten Percent Scholarship, he traveled to Melbourne, Australia, where he completed his PhD in Economics. But even while sitting thousands of miles away from home, he was not thinking only about his own success. He was thinking about students back in Pakistan who had no one to help them the way others had helped him.
Today, he serves as a professor at the School of Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University. But long before the title, and long before the trust was formally registered, he had already begun giving. As soon as he received his lectureship at QAU in 2004, he started supporting students from his own pocket — quietly and without announcement. It was never about recognition. It was about remembering.
What is Roshni Trust (RT)?
Established in 2014, RT is a formally registered nonprofit organization operating under Pakistan’s 1882 Trust Act. Its purpose is straightforward but profound: to reach deserving students of QAU who fall through the gaps of existing support systems.
Despite the presence of schemes like Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, Ehsaas Program, and various university welfare programs, the demand for financial assistance at QAU has always exceeded what these programs can offer.
Roshni Trust steps in where others cannot — providing support to students who have been declared deserving but still find themselves without help, keeping their academic journeys alive when every other door has closed.
From Scholarship to Loans — A Smarter Model for Sustainable Impact
Over the years, RT did not just grow — it evolved.
From 2014 to 2020, the trust ran a scholarship scheme offering partial fee support to 20 to 25 students every semester. Funding came through donations from students, alumni, staff, and regular contributions from Charity Australian International (CAI).
In November 2020, it expanded its reach by launching “Mobilizing First Drop (MoFiD),” a food sponsorship program built on a simple but powerful idea:
“Sponsor a meal if you are well off; take a meal if you are not.”
The program preserves the dignity and self-respect of every student involved.
Perhaps the most significant evolution came when the trust made a bold and practical decision: renaming its scholarship scheme to the Roshni Trust Student Loan Scheme. The reason was straightforward. The word “scholarship” was attracting non-deserving applicants, and many graduates were not returning funds after securing employment.
By shifting to a loan model — where students are expected to return the support within a specified period after graduation — RT created a more honest, sustainable, and self-replenishing system. This ensures that the same help that uplifted one student can go on to uplift the next.
From Roshni Trust to the Real World
When RT paid their fees, it did not just keep students in university — it changed the direction of their lives.
Nafees Raza, once a financially struggling student, now serves at the State Bank of Pakistan. Waqas serves as a lecturer at Minhas University. Tayyeb Jehanghir continued his education all the way to the United Kingdom. Hafiz Shoaib now stands as a lecturer himself.
And these are just a few names we know. Behind them stand hundreds more — quietly succeeding in corners of the country that the world rarely notices.
The Number of Beneficiaries at QAU
Over the years, more than one thousand students at Quaid-i-Azam University have directly benefited from Roshni Trust’s support — through scholarships, student loans, and food assistance programs.
A Quiet Light in the Dark
Roshni means “light.” And that is exactly what this trust has been — a quiet, steady flame in the lives of thousands who stood on the verge of darkness.
Dr. Anwar Shah did not wait for the government. He did not wait for applause. He simply lit the lamp and kept it burning.
In a country that desperately needs more of that spirit, his story is not just inspiring.
It is a blueprint.
How You Can Help Roshni Trust (RT)
Title of Account: Roshni Trust
Account Number: 01500 39000 4256
Bank: Askari Bank Limited
Branch: Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad
IBAN: ASCMPKKA 000 1500 39000 4256Swift Code: ASCMPKKA
The author is a PhD scholar at the School of Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad. He is a policy analyst who writes on green economic growth, environmental sustainability and climate change. Email: ziapyare@gmail.com
