a large number of Pakistanis into the field of international banking and almost 80 per cent of the BCCI's top executive positions at the head office and in branches in various countries were held by Pakistanis. "It was founded by the charismatic Agha Hasan Abedi in 1972, backed by Middle Eastern investors and run mostly by the South Asians." Abedi severed his connection with BCCI in 1990 after suffering a heart attack and led a retired life in Karachi until his death due to heart failure at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi in 1995. Philanthropy Abedi founded charitable organisations in UK, India, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Pakistan. The Infaq Foundation has only one office in Karachi, Pakistan. It has capital and reserves of over Rs. 2.50 billion, which in 2009 is equivalent to just over US$30 million. Major beneficiaries among the known institutions are, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Lady Dufferin Hospital and Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Topi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Ghulam Ishaq Khan was the first Chairman of the Foundation from 1983 to 1995. Abedi also founded BCCI FAST in 1980 with a donation of Rs. 100 million, to promote education in computer science. It is now the first multi-campus university of Pakistan, known as National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences. It has five campuses situated in Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. Abedi also contributed funds to establish Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. Personal life Hasan Abedi was married to Rabia Abedi. The couple had a daughter named Maha. Although Abedi was born into a Shia Muslim family, he was a well-known Muslim mystic. During his speeches at the meetings of the BCCI Bank, he would spend hours sharing his mystical beliefs. He believed that BCCI was not only a bank, but a god-gifted entity that was directly connected to the universe. Award and honor Agha Hasan Abedi Auditorium at Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, was named after him. Agha Hasan Abedi was posthumously awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, a Pakistani Civilian Award, by the President of Pakistan in 2015 for his services to the nation. References External links Biographical Agha Hasan Abedi, Salaam Agha Hasan Abedi passes away, Dawn wire service About BCCI The BCCI