Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad (MM Ahmad) (28 February 1913 – 23 July 2002) was a prominent member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and a Pakistani economist and civil servant. He was the grandson of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Early Life and Education
Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad was born on 28 February 1913 to Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra). He received his early education and upbringing in Qadian, under the tutelage of elders of the family. He graduated from Government College, Lahore. In 1933, he travelled to England to pursue higher education, becoming the first grandchild of the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) to study abroad. He studied at Oxford University and passed the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination. During his departure to England, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II (ra), gave him special advice.
Personal Life
On 26 December 1938, he married Sahibzadi Amatul Qayyum, daughter of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) and Hazrat Syeda Amatul Hayy Begum (ra), i.e., the maternal granddaughter of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I (ra), in a ceremony solemnised by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad at the Noor Mosque, Qadian. The couple had no children, so they raised and nurtured Zahid M. Ahmad, son of Nasir Muhammad Sial, as if he were their own.
Career
Upon returning from Britain, MM Ahmad began his career in the Indian Civil Service. He served as a revenue officer in Sargodha and Multan, and later as Deputy Commissioner of Sialkot and Deputy Commissioner of Mianwali. During the days of the Partition of India, he was granted the privilege of serving the Ahmadiyya Community during the migration.
In West Pakistan, he served as Finance Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary. President of Pakistan, Field Marshal General Muhammad Ayub Khan, appointed MM Ahmad as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, a position previously held by the President himself. Under his supervision, Pakistan's Five-Year Development Plan was prepared, initiating the construction of Tarbela Dam, Mangla Dam, and the associated canals. During the rule of President General Yahya Khan, he served as the President's Economic Advisor, a post equivalent to a Federal Minister. He presented the federal budget for 1971-72, a significant achievement given the political and economic climate of the time.
On 15 September 1971, he was attacked in Islamabad by a CDA employee named Muhammad Aslam Qureshi. He sustained severe injuries and had to be hospitalised.
MM Ahmad served as the Economic Advisor to the President of Pakistan until the outbreak of the civil war between East and West Pakistan. Following this fateful event, he relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1972, where he joined the World Bank’s board as an executive director responsible for Pakistan and several other Muslim countries. He was later elected as the Deputy Executive Secretary of the joint ministerial committee of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, also known as the Development Committee. He retired from this position in 1984.
He also played a significant role in the abolition of the Pressler Amendment concerning Pakistan.
Services for Islam Ahmadiyyat
In 1978, he presented a paper at the International Breaking of the Cross Conference in London.
In 1989, MM Ahmad was appointed as the Amir of the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States, serving until his demise. During his tenure, the US Jamaat achieved significant progress, including the construction of the central mosque Bait-ul-Rehman, other mosques and mission houses, the establishment of the Community's website www.alislam.org, the creation of the MTA Earth Station, exhibitions, and the MTA US Studios under the guidance of Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV (rh). The US Jamaat also began broadcasting the annual convention (Jalsa Salana) live on MTA. Under his leadership, the US became the top contributor in financial sacrifices. During his tenure, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) visited the US multiple times.
Demise and Legacy
MM Ahmad passed away on 23 July 2002, aged 89 years. He was buried in the Bahishti Maqbara in Rabwah on 30 July 2002. He is remembered for his services to Pakistan and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Shahid Javed Burki, the Pakistani-American economist who served as Vice President of the World Bank and as de facto Finance Minister of Pakistan on a caretaker basis, also had the privilege of working with MM Ahmad. He writes:
MIRZA Muzaffar Ahmad — known mostly as MM to his friends and admirers — died in a hospital in suburban Washington on July 22. He had been unwell for several months not because of any disease. He was just weighed down by age and by his concern for Pakistan, a country he dearly loved and to the service of which he devoted his entire and extremely productive life ... MM gave all he had to Pakistan. (DAWN, 6 August 2002)
