Jahangir Siddiqui

Jahangir Siddiqui (Sindhi: جھانگير صديقي) is a Pakistani businessman and founder of Jahangir Siddiqui & Co. and JS Bank.^[1]

Career

On May 15, 1962, with the support of his family, Siddiqui became a local distributor of ice cream and Coca-Cola.^[2] In 1966, he completed a bachelor's degree in commerce, and began training as a chartered accountant in 1967.^[2] His interest in stock markets eventually led him to start his own company in October 1971.^[3] In 1971, Siddiqui founded Jahangir Siddiqui & Co. Ltd, which by growth and acquisition eventually became the JS Group of companies.^[3]

To raise money to start the company after his father's initial refusal to lend him Rs 6,000 to start a business, Siddiqui secretly stole and sold his family's car to a junk dealer for Rs1,800, along with the family's two-year stock of wheat and coal, all of which were stored in the family's house at the time.^[3] When discussing this start as a businessman, Siddiqui said, "Positive thinking distinguishes an entrepreneur from the rest of the crowd. He’s never deterred by difficult circumstances.”^[3] By the time he retired from the company in 2003, JS Group comprised a range of businesses with over 18,000 employees.^[3]

Siddiqui and his wife Mahvash went on to found the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation, a charitable, non-profit organization^[4] focusing on healthcare, education, sustainable development through social enterprise and emergency relief in Pakistan.^[5]

Land allegations

See also: Naya Nazimabad

In December 2010, Siddiqui was placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) for alleged land grabbing in Karachi which alleged that Jahangir Siddiqui had illegally occupied a plot of 1,000 square yards in Karachi in connivance with the owner of an estate agency, using forged documents.^[6][7] Additional Executive District Officer (AEDO) Revenue Mustafa Jamal Qazi maintained that it had become a practice that land that was awarded to the government was being grabbed by "land mafia...for its vested interests."^[6] Pakistan's Anti-Corruption Establishment arrested several in conjunction with the case in December.^[8]

Siddiqui sued a group of individuals, including the Anti-Corruption Establishment director and a member of EDO Revenue for defamation, indicating that the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee had evaluated land in 2001 and found the ownership of the property legal.^[9] In response to the defamation claim, the Sindh High Court issued notices to the defendants, and they were summoned to appear before the court on 5 January 2011.^[10] The court issued a restraining order preventing the defendants from "media attack" pending settlement of the matter.^[9] The Pakistan Observer characterised these events as a "character assassination campaign" against Siddiqui.^[11]

On 29 November 2011 the court ruled that the allegations were "false and baseless" and that such cases should not be filed in the future.^[12]

Personal life

He is a Sindhi from Dadu City and his family moved to Hyderabad later. He is the brother of the television director, producer and businessperson Sultana Siddiqui,^[13] and the uncle of her son, businessman Shunaid Qureshi.^[14] Jahangir Siddiqui's son Ali Jehangir Siddiqui is also involved in the family's businesses. Another son is married to Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman's daughter.^[15]