Against current: Pakistani’s mission training new generation of ethical leaders

By Akhtar Pathan

KARACHI, Pakistan (MNTV) — In Pakistan, politics is often viewed as an exclusive arena reserved for wealthy families, entrenched elites, and those backed by the country’s powerful establishment. Leadership is inherited more often than cultivated, and moral politics is frequently dismissed as idealism with little place in the realities of power.

Yet for Sheeraz Altaf, the idea of training ethical political leaders is not fantasy. It is the defining mission of his life.

As head of the Aligarh Institute of Political Leadership, Altaf has embarked on a path few are willing to take — one he describes as difficult, lonely and filled with resistance.

After observing nearly every major political party in Pakistan from within and studying political systems in Western democracies, Altaf reached a conclusion that now drives his activism: countries change only when sincere, selfless and morally grounded leaders rise to power.

Instead of waiting for change, he decided to become part of it.

Gathering a circle of principled politicians, professionals and socially conscious citizens in his native Lahore, Altaf began shaping an institution aimed at turning ordinary individuals into future statesmen — leaders capable of thinking beyond patronage, personality cults and the pursuit of power that have long defined Pakistani politics.

Inspired by the Aligarh Movement

The institute draws inspiration from the legacy of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of the historic Aligarh Muslim University.

Like Sir Syed’s 19th-century Aligarh Movement, Altaf believes education and intellectual reform are essential for political transformation.

The Aligarh Movement emerged after the 1857 uprising against British rule, when Muslims in the subcontinent had fallen behind in education, employment and political representation. Sir Syed sought to revive the community through modern scientific education, social reform and political awareness.

His Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, founded in 1875, later evolved into Aligarh Muslim University and produced generations of Muslim intellectuals and political leaders.

For Altaf, the lesson is clear: societies rise when they invest in principled leadership and education.

“At the time of Sir Syed, Muslims were lagging behind in every sphere of life,” Altaf said. “Today in Pakistan, the majority of people are still deprived of basic rights while the ruling elite continues to plunder national resources.”

From charity to politics

Altaf says his concern for inequality began in childhood.

“When I was 10 or 12 years old, I started thinking about how society could be rid of poverty and economic disparity,” he said.

After taking over his father’s business, he turned toward charity work, believing philanthropy could help reduce suffering. But frequent trips abroad gradually changed his thinking.

“I closely observed how other systems functioned,” he said. “Then it became clear to me that charity alone is not the solution. Good and sincere people must enter politics to replace the bad ones.”

His political journey took him through several parties. He briefly worked with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2006 and later joined the Barabari Party in 2018, but he said repeated disappointment with mainstream politics ultimately pushed him to establish his own political party, the Awami Falahi Party.

He said in 2022, he registered his party with the Election Commission of Pakistan and contested provincial elections from Lahore in 2024.

In November 2025, Altaf founded the Aligarh Institute of Political Leadership after realizing the fact that there are no formal leadership schools and institutes in the country dedicated to training seasoned and budding politicians, general party workers and interested students in ethical politics, statecraft and the art of governance.

 “Politics is my food and oxygen”

Altaf speaks about politics less as a career and more as a calling.

“Politics is my food and oxygen,” he said. “Thinking about working for the poor and for the country gives me a strange and constant energy.”

He cites Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Meraj Muhammad Khan, Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders and Angela Merkel among the figures who inspire him for what he describes as their ethical and principled political positions.

But above all, he says, his greatest inspiration is the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Training leaders in a country that barely does

Pakistan has few formal institutions dedicated to preparing future politicians. Leadership training is generally scattered across bureaucratic academies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks and party structures, while many politicians emerge through family dynasties or grassroots activism rather than structured political education.

Altaf believes this absence has damaged the country’s political culture.

“There is hardly any institute focused on training politicians in ethics, policymaking, administration, public welfare and institutional reform,” he said.

He also laments the decline of student unions, once fertile ground for political leadership.

According to Altaf, military rulers including Ayub Khan and Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq systematically dismantled student organizations that once acted as training grounds for future leaders.

“Their demise is one of the reasons there is a lack of trained leadership in the country,” he said.

Challenging an entrenched system

Altaf is deeply critical of Pakistan’s political order, which he says excludes the overwhelming majority of citizens from meaningful participation.

He argues that the country’s military establishment, bureaucracy, media ownership and political elite operate within a mutually reinforcing system that resists genuine reform.

“In this elitist electoral structure, 98% of the population is sidelined,” he said. “Ordinary people do not have a fair chance to contest elections, whether for local government or national office.”

Still, despite his frustration, Altaf insists his movement is rooted in hope rather than cynicism.

He dreams, he says, of “a prosperous and just Pakistan for all, not just for a few.”

He believes the country’s educated middle class must rise beyond apathy and become a force for social transformation by engaging directly with ordinary citizens and serving as “the voice of the voiceless.”

A long road with no guarantees

Altaf understands the odds against him.

Building a movement centered on ethics and selflessness in a system shaped by patronage and power struggles is, by any measure, an uphill battle.

But he appears prepared for the long journey.

For him, success is not merely about winning elections or gaining office. It lies in continuing the struggle itself — patiently, persistently and with conviction that moral leadership, however rare, can still emerge in Pakistan.