Shoaib Sultan Khan

Shoaib Sultan Khan was born on 11 July 1933 in Moradabad, British India; a town now in Uttar Pradesh, India. His grandfather, Sultan Ahmad Beg, had won a coveted position in the state civil service of United Provinces, in the days of the British Raj. He maintained a large household that embraced his children and grandchildren.{{cite web|title=Khan, Shoaib Sultan: Biography|url=http://www.rmaf.org.ph/newrmaf/main/awardees/awardee/biography/122|publisher=Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation|date=August 1992}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAYUAQAAMAAJ|title=Great men and women of Asia: Ramon Magsaysay Awardees from South Asia, 1987–2005|last1=Goloy|first1=Angelina G.|last2=Balgos|first2=Cecile C. A.|last3=Foundation|first3=Ramon Magsaysay Award|last4=Inc|first4=Anvil Publishing|date=2006-08-30|publisher=Anvil|isbn=9789712718366|pages=115|language=en}}

File:Young ssk.jpg

Shoaib obtained his Master of Arts degree in English from Lucknow University and subsequently completed a Public Administration Course at the University of Cambridge. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from Peshawar University, in addition to which he has also done academic work at Birmingham University and at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford.{{cite web|title=Mr Shoaib Sultan Khan|url=http://lpp.org.pk/mr-shoaib-sultan-khan/|publisher=Lodhran Pilot Project}}{{cite web|title=Board of Directors|url=http://www.ahkrc.org/board-members.html|publisher=AKH Resource Center|access-date=4 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022114012/http://www.ahkrc.org/board-members.html|archive-date=22 October 2015|url-status=dead}}

He started his career as a lecturer in 1953, but joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1955 and remained in it till 1978. Eventually rising through the posts of Deputy Director of Civil Service Academy, Deputy Commissioner Kohat and Peshawar, Commissioner of Karachi Division, Secretary Department of Health, Education and Social Welfare in the Government of North West Frontier Province and Director for the Pakistan Academy of Rural Development.{{cite web|title=Community-Driven Development (CDD) and Social Funds Programs|url=http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website00819C/WEB/SESSI-18.HTM|publisher=World Bank Archives}}{{cite web|title=20 years of leadership|url=http://www.lead.org.pk/lead/pages/former-board-members.aspx|publisher=Lead Pakistan|date=November 2014}}{{cite web|title=The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme: A Journey through Grassroots Development|url=http://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780195476682.html|publisher=Oxford University Press}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ef89AAAAYAAJ|title=Rural development in Pakistan|last=Khan|first=Akhter Hameed|date=1985-01-01|publisher=Vanguard Books|pages=5 and 275|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVFDAAAAYAAJ|title=Planning for Effective Public Rural Works Programmes: Case Studies from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan|date=1981-01-01|publisher=The Commission|pages=90|language=en}}

His career in rural development started in 1959 when he came in contact with Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan. Dr. Khan asked him to follow three simple principles used in Germany by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen – get the oppressed peasants to organize and identify a leadership and then acquire the capacity to acquire capital, have savings and upgrade human skills. That conceptual package revolutionized Germany. Even the Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (now just BRAC) came out of this simple concept.{{cite news|title=A Man named Khan|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/blogs/blog-free-for-all/article5239900.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|date=16 October 2013}} Under Dr. Khan's guidance he established the Daudzai Pilot Project of the Integrated Rural Development Programme in 1972 on the pattern of Comilla Project.{{cite news|title=A must-read on rural uplift|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/845556/a-must-read-on-rural-uplift|newspaper=DAWN|date=11 August 2009}} In 1978, he was deputed to Nagoya, Japan, as a consultant to the United Nations Center for Regional Development. As UNICEF consultant, he worked in Sri Lanka during 1979 and 1982 on the Mahaweli Ganga Development Project.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GensAAAAMAAJ|title=Managing change in different organizations|last=Qureshi|first=Zafar Iqbal|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Ferozsons|isbn=9789690020451|pages=41|language=en}}

In December 1982, the Aga Khan Foundation asked him to head the newly founded Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), a citizen sector organisation that targets poverty-stricken villages primarily in northern Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral) and engages their inhabitants in development programmes.{{cite news|title=Noble Pakistan: 10 Pakistanis honoured with Ramon Magsaysay Award|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/758221/noble-pakistan-9-pakistanis-honoured-with-ramon-magsaysay-award/|newspaper=The Express Tribune|date=2 July 2013}}{{cite book|title=The Aga Khan Rural Support Program|year=1996|url=http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/0-8213-3664-9|publisher=World Bank Group|doi=10.1596/0-8213-3664-9|isbn=978-0-8213-3664-9}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnISAQAAMAAJ|title=Sharing Water: Irrigation and Water Management in the Hindukush, Karakoram, Himalaya|last=Kreutzmann|first=Hermann|date=2000-01-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195791594|pages=145|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DenHAAAAIAAJ|title=The Economist|date=1987-01-01|publisher=Economist Newspaper Limited|pages=26|language=en}} AKRSP was established with strong personal interest of His Highness the Aga Khan in its success.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltDsAAAAMAAJ|title=Securing sustainable livelihoods in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas: directions for future research, development, and cooperation|last1=Gyamtsho|first1=Pema|last2=Lamichhane|first2=Anupa|date=2006-01-01|publisher=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development|isbn=9789291150076|pages=155–175|language=en}} The same year Shoaib became the first and founding general manager of the newly established NGO.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IV9m8gF6XDcC|title=Ending Poverty in South Asia: Ideas that Work|last1=Narayan-Parker|first1=Deepa|last2=Glinskaya|first2=Elena E.|date=2007-01-01|publisher=World Bank Publications|isbn=9780821368770|pages=162|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yeDZAAAAMAAJ|title=Valleys in Transition: Twenty Years of AKRSP's Experience in Northern Pakistan|last1=Wood|first1=Geoffrey D.|last2=Malik|first2=Abdul|last3=Sagheer|first3=Sumaira|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195473278|pages=429|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdHZAAAAMAAJ|title=Fighting Poverty with Microfinance: Report of the Seminar on Sustainable Local Community Development and the Role of Microcredit in Rural Development, 22–26 March 1999, Bangkok, Thailand|date=2000-01-01|publisher=Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific|pages=65|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMopAQAAMAAJ|title=Community development and conservation of forest biodiversity through community forestry: proceedings of an international seminar held in Bangkok, Thailand, October 26–28, 1994|last=Thailand)|first=Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia-Pacific (Bangkok|date=1995-01-01|publisher=Regional Community Forestry Training Center, Kasetsart University|pages=104|isbn=9789747315905|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnISAQAAMAAJ|title=Sharing Water: Irrigation and Water Management in the Hindukush, Karakoram, Himalaya|last=Kreutzmann|first=Hermann|date=2000-01-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195791594|pages=145|language=en}} At the outset, Shoaib obtained commitment from the Aga Khan Foundation for long-term financial support of the program.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMopAQAAMAAJ|title=Community development and conservation of forest biodiversity through community forestry: proceedings of an international seminar held in Bangkok, Thailand, October 26–28, 1994|last=Thailand|first=Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia-Pacific Bangkok|date=1995-01-01|publisher=Regional Community Forestry Training Center, Kasetsart University|pages=104|isbn=9789747315905|language=en}} The AKRSP model developed after trial and error in collaboration with 100,000 mountain farmers.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wuhCAgAAQBAJ|title=The State and NGOs: Perspective from Asia|last=Shigetomi|first=Shinichi|date=2002-01-01|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9789812301529|pages=98|language=en}} This model subverted the conventional model of social development, which assumed that either central government or outside agencies would lift people out of poverty.{{cite news|title=Escaping Pakistan's poverty trap|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/9897739/Escaping-Pakistans-poverty-trap.html|newspaper=The Telegraph |date=4 March 2013}} And involved the local communities in the development initiative through an approach that was participatory rather than bureaucratic.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GO96P5w4fHoC|title=Valuing Freedoms: Sen's Capability Approach and Poverty Reduction|last=Alkire|first=Sabina|date=2005-01-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199283316|pages=235|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wuhCAgAAQBAJ|title=The State and NGOs: Perspective from Asia|last=Shigetomi|first=Shinichi|date=2002-01-01|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9789812301529|pages=98|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9uRAAAAIAAJ|title=Rural development in Pakistan|last=Khan|first=Shoaib Sultan|date=1980-04-01|publisher=Vikas|isbn=9780706909241|pages=9|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvpeeGu3jEMC|title=Commission on Sustainable Development: Report on the Thirteenth Session (30 April 2004 and 11–22 April 2005)|date=2005-08-26|publisher=United Nations Publications|pages=59|isbn=9780119417418|language=en}}

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The success of the AKRSP model was replicated in many countries and at the request of the United Nations Development Programme, he undertook South Asian Poverty Alleviation programme (SAPAP), setting up demonstration plots on its pattern in India, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Islamabad also started the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) and the provincial programmes replicating the same model.{{cite news|title=Pioneering development partnership|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/754712/profile-pioneering-development-partnership|newspaper=DAWN|date=6 October 2012}}

By the mid 1980s Shoaib had been successful in convincing Sartaj Aziz to lobby to set up the National Rural Support Programme. In 1987 Chief Minister of N.W.F.P Arbab Jehangir invited Shoaib Sultan to start the Sarhad Rural Support Programme. In 1993 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif impressed with Shoaib Sultans international recognition donated 500 million rupees to the National Rural Support Programme. During the 1990s, when Sartaj Aziz was Finance Minister, Shoaibs interaction with him resulted in the establishment of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. In 1997 he influenced Chief Minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif to commit 500 million rupees for the Punjab Rural Support Programme.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aCH4nLuLqfMC|title=Reducing Poverty and Sustaining the Environment: The Politics of Local Engagement|last1=Satterthwaite|first1=David|last2=Reid|first2=Hannah|last3=Bass|first3=Stephen|date=2013-06-17|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781136558955|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdHZAAAAMAAJ|title=Fighting Poverty with Microfinance: Report of the Seminar on Sustainable Local Community Development and the Role of Microcredit in Rural Development, 22–26 March 1999, Bangkok, Thailand|date=2000-01-01|publisher=Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific|pages=56|language=en}}

When Shoaib came to India in 1994 as part of the UNDP project, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao asked him to test the project in Andhra Pradesh, where it took off in three districts — Kurnool, Anantapur and Mehboobnagar. At the end of the U.N pilot, on Shoaibs suggestion, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, agreed to continue it.{{cite news|title=No line of control here|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/no-line-of-control-here/article5197654.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|date=4 October 2013}}

In this context, India launched a national programme called National Rural Livelihood Mission based on the SAPAP principles of development to benefit over 300 million poor. At the behest of Rahul Gandhi, Shoaib started a project in Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (RGMVP) in his constituency in Uttar Pradesh on the same principles which have proven that the model can help marginalised people overcome obstacles even in the most hierarchical social structural settings. Similarly in Andhra Pradesh, the programme was started by the World Bank funding and it reached 50 million people and transformed their lives.{{cite news|title=Pioneering development partnership|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/754712/profile-pioneering-development-partnership|newspaper=DAWN|date=6 October 2012}} In 2011, Sonia Gandhi directed the Indian Ministry of Rural Development to launch the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) on the pattern of the Andhra experience to mobilise 70 million households across the country by 2017.{{cite news|title=RSPs have not deviated|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1028896|newspaper=DAWN|date=14 July 2013}} The Federal Government of India has now made it part of their central policy under the National Rural Livelihood Mission and 13 other states are following the Andhra Pradesh model.{{cite news|title=Earthly matters: Harnessing people's potential|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/781483/earthly-matters-harnessing-peoples-potential|newspaper=DAWN|date=26 January 2013}}

India’s Rural Development Ministry, has admitted that in India, the state has internalised that rights-based development was not a charity, but a right. Based on the model advocated by Shoaib, the Government of India annually allocates Indian Rs 270 billion for rural support programmes through community support organisations.{{cite news|title=Participatory development: With little govt support, people can do wonders|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/571143/participatory-development-with-little-govt-support-people-can-do-wonders/|newspaper=The Express Tribune|date=2 July 2013}}

Shoaib has served on the board of numerous organisations including:

1. Rural Support Programmes Network (Chairman){{cite news|title=Moot on community-driven development starts today|url=http://nation.com.pk/islamabad/07-Dec-2015/moot-on-community-driven-development-starts-today|newspaper=The Nation|date=7 December 2015}}{{cite news|title=Experts call for people's role in policymaking|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/09-Dec-2015/experts-call-for-people-s-role-in-policymaking|newspaper=Daily Times|date=9 December 2015|access-date=13 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222125839/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/09-Dec-2015/experts-call-for-people-s-role-in-policymaking|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=dead}}
2. National Rural Support Programme{{cite news|title=Aziz for coordination in social sector|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/366725/aziz-for-coordination-in-social-sector|newspaper=DAWN|date=6 August 2004}}{{cite news|title=EU, Sindh govt launch poverty reduction programme|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/26-Nov-2015/eu-sindh-govt-launch-poverty-reduction-programme|newspaper=Daily Times|date=26 November 2015|access-date=13 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212121847/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/26-Nov-2015/eu-sindh-govt-launch-poverty-reduction-programme|archive-date=12 December 2015|url-status=dead}}
3. Ghazi Barotha Tarqiati Idara (GBTI){{cite news|title=Head of GBTI resigns|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/577690/www.tupernic.com|newspaper=DAWN|date=1 November 2010}}{{cite book|title=Reducing Poverty and Sustaining the Environment|date = 17 June 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aCH4nLuLqfMC&q=Ghazi+Barotha+Taraqiati+Idara+shoaib+sultan+khan&pg=PT45|publisher=Earthscan Publications Limited|isbn = 9781136558955}}
4. Sindh Rural Support Organization{{cite news|title=Positive change: Empowering women, transforming lives|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/966381/positive-change-empowering-women-transforming-lives/|newspaper=The Express Tribune|date=3 October 2015}}{{cite news|title=Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif committed to bringing a positive change in the living standard of women|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/83748-Shumaila-Imran-gives-sworn-testimony-in-court|newspaper=The News International|date=28 September 2015}}
5. Aga Khan Rural Support Programme{{cite news|title=Provision of social services stressed|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/394147/provision-of-social-services-stressed|newspaper=DAWN|date=16 May 2004}}{{cite news|title=Forgotten heroes of Pakistan|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/676555/forgotten-heroes-of-pakistan|newspaper=DAWN|date=28 December 2011}}
6. Institute of Rural Management{{cite web|title=IRM Board of Directors|date= 20 August 2024|url= http://www.irm.edu.pk/index.php/about-irm/board-of-directors/|publisher=Institute of Rural Management}}{{cite news|title=Rural Support Programs at Sub National Level: A Case Study from Pakistan|url=http://journal.heinz.cmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/HJ-Vol12-Iss1.pdf|work=The Heinz Journal|date=Spring 2015}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
7. Sarhad Rural Support Programme{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.srsp.org.pk/srsp-main/index.php/about-srsp/history|publisher=SRSP}}{{cite news|title=Night sky lit up for the first time in Swat village|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/428697/electricity-here-night-sky-lit-up-for-the-first-time-in-swat-village/|newspaper=The Express Tribune|date=31 August 2012}}
8. Punjab Rural Support Programme{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GensAAAAMAAJ|title=Managing change in different organizations|last=Qureshi|first=Zafar Iqbal|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Ferozsons|isbn=9789690020451|pages=41|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uo1KAAAAYAAJ|title=Government, communities and non-governmental organizations in social sector delivery: collective action in rural drinking water supply|last=Khan|first=Shahrukh Rafi|date=1999-11-01|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=9780754610038|pages=8|language=en}}
9. Balochistan Rural Support Programme{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NfwAAAAIAAJ|title=Climbing the Development Ladder With Ngo Support: Experiences of Rural People in Pakistan|last=Khan|first=Mahmood Hasan|date=1998-01-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195779219|language=en}}{{Cite book|title=The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme: A Journey through Grassroots Development|last=Sultan Khan|first=Shoaib|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
10. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eIDtAAAAMAAJ|title=Institutional development for local management of rural resources|last1=Dani|first1=Anis Ahmad|last2=Gibbs|first2=Christopher J. N.|last3=Bromley|first3=Daniel W.|date=1987-01-01|publisher=East-West Environment and Policy Institute|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WhTtAAAAMAAJ|title=Micro-enterprise development in mountain areas: a review of NGO initiatives in Pakistan|last1=Mohmand|first1=Abdul Ghaffar|last2=Development|first2=International Centre for Integrated Mountain|date=1999-01-01|publisher=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development|language=en}}
11. Akhter Hameed Khan Foundation (AHKF) https://ahk-foundation.org/

He is also a Member of the Advisory Group of the World Bank sponsored Community Development Carbon Fund, Member of the Government of Pakistan Advisory Committee on Millennium Development Goals and Chairman of the Pakistan Government's Vision 2030 Group on Just Society.

In recognition of his services, he has been awarded the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Award in 1989,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2K2ICLccSH0C|title=1987–1992, the Global 500: The Roll of Honour for Environmental Achievement|date=1992-01-01|publisher=UNEP/Earthprint|isbn=9789280713619|pages=50|language=en}} Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan in 1990,{{cite news|title=Man in the Hat book on Shoaib Sultan Khan by Noel Cossins released by CM Kiran Kumar Reddy|url=http://www.newswala.com/Hyderabad-News/Man-in-the-Hat-book-on-Shoaib-Sultan-Khan-by-Noel-Cossins-released-by-CM-Kiran-Kumar-Reddy-42178.html|newspaper=The Hyderabad-Deccan English Daily|date=15 July 2013}} the Ramon Magsaysay Award by the President of Philippines in 1992{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAYUAQAAMAAJ|title=Great men and women of Asia: Ramon Magsaysay Awardees from South Asia, 1987–2005|last1=Goloy|first1=Angelina G.|last2=Balgos|first2=Cecile C. A.|last3=Foundation|first3=Ramon Magsaysay Award|last4=Inc|first4=Anvil Publishing|date=2006-08-30|publisher=Anvil|isbn=9789712718366|pages=121|language=en}} and the World Conservation Medal by the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip in 1994,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9EsApMkdAoC|title=Local and Community Driven Development: Moving to Scale in Theory and Practice|last1=Binswanger-Mkhize|first1=Hans P.|last2=Regt|first2=Jacomina P. de|last3=Spector|first3=Stephen|date=2010-02-12|publisher=World Bank Publications|isbn=9780821381953|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxgNAQAAMAAJ|title=Asiaweek|date=1994-11-01|publisher=Asiaweek Limited|pages=20|language=en}} the Rotary International (Pakistan) awarded Man of the Year 2005 Gold Medal in 2006, Sitara Eisaar for earthquake work and Hilal-i-Imtiaz on Pakistan Day in 2006 by the President of Pakistan. In 2009 he was elected as [https://www.ashoka.org/fellow/shoaib-sultan-khan Senior Ashoka Fellow].{{cite web|title=Ashoka innovators for the public|url=https://www.ashoka.org/fellow/shoaib-sultan-khan|publisher=Ashoka}}

The list of nominees for the annual Nobel Peace Prize has always been a closely guarded secret over the last 50 years, with just a few names leaked to the public. One such nominee whose name slipped the net is Shoaib Sultan Khan.{{cite news|title=International School of Nice welcomes 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Shoaib Sultan Khan|url=https://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/international-school-of-nice-welcomes-2009-nobel-peace-prize-nominee-shoaib-sultan-khan/|newspaper=Ismaili Mail|date=13 October 2009}}{{cite web|title=Nice: International School of Nice welcomes 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee|url=http://www.investincotedazur.com/en/info/news/en-nice-international-school-of-nice-welcomes-2009-nobel-peace-prize-nominee/|publisher=Invest in cote d'azur|date=14 October 2009|access-date=1 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208092930/http://www.investincotedazur.com/en/info/news/en-nice-international-school-of-nice-welcomes-2009-nobel-peace-prize-nominee/|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=dead}} He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for "unleashing the power and potential of the poor".{{cite news|title=Rural support programmes can double people's incomes|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1147664|newspaper=DAWN|date=29 November 2014}} The Prize eventually went to President Obama,{{cite news|title=Why the Prize Is Premature|url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1929396,00.html|newspaper=Time|date=9 October 2009}} which raised more than a few eyebrows, considering the nomination came just 12 days after he took office. The New York Times called the decision a "stunning surprise", while less generous spectators accused the Nobel Committee of having political motivations.{{cite news|title=Top 10 Nobel Prize Controversies|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2096389_2096388,00.html|newspaper=Time|date=7 October 2011}} With President Obama confessing to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show that he did not know why he won the Nobel Prize.{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/barack-obama-stephen-colbert-nobel-peace-prize-a7367321.html|title=Barack Obama was asked why he won the Nobel Peace Prize. His answer was spot on|date=2016-10-18|newspaper=The Independent|language=en-GB}}{{Cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Barack-Obama-unsure-of-why-he-got-Nobel-Peace-Prize/articleshow/54940500.cms|title=Barack Obama unsure of why he got Nobel Peace Prize|date=21 October 2016|newspaper=The Times of India}}

In March 2019, he was nominated to be a recipient of Nishan-i-Imtiaz, the highest civilian honour of Pakistan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/442111-president-to-confer-127-civil-awards-on-pak-foreign-nationals-on-march-23|title=President to confer 127 civil awards on Pak, foreign nationals on 23 March|website=The News|language=en|access-date=2019-03-11}} On 23 March 2019, Government of Pakistan awarded him the Nishan-i-Imtiaz.{{Cite web|url=https://www.samaa.tv/news/2019/03/172-people-including-mehwish-hayat-wasim-akram-conferred-national-awards/|title = 172 people, including Mehwish Hayat, Wasim Akram, conferred national awards | SAMAA| work=Samaa TV }}

In March 2019, he was nominated to be a recipient of Nishan-i-Imtiaz, the highest civilian honour of Pakistan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/442111-president-to-confer-127-civil-awards-on-pak-foreign-nationals-on-march-23|title=President to confer 127 civil awards on Pak, foreign nationals on March 23|website=The News|language=en|access-date=2019-03-11}} On 23 March 2019, Government of Pakistan awarded him the Nishan-i-Imtiaz.{{Cite web|url=https://www.samaa.tv/news/2019/03/172-people-including-mehwish-hayat-wasim-akram-conferred-national-awards/|title = 172 people, including Mehwish Hayat, Wasim Akram, conferred national awards | SAMAA| work=Samaa TV }}

• [http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Sociology/Regional/?view=usa&ci=9780195476682 The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme – A Journey Through Grassroots Development]
• [http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=5490279589&searchurl=an%3Dmahmood%2Bhasan%2Bkhan%2Bshoaib%2Bsultan%2Bkhan Rural Change in the Third World: Pakistan and the Aga Khan Rural Support Program]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060107/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/AP%20REVISITED.pdf Andhra Pradesh revisited and meetings at Delhi]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060121/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/NRSP%20BANK.pdf NRSP Bank]
• [http://210.56.25.21/gsdl/collect/ssk/index/assoc/HASH274e.dir/doc.pdf Advocacy and replication of AKRSP strategy]
• [http://210.56.25.21/gsdl/collect/ssk/index/assoc/HASH015f.dir/doc.pdf The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Gilgit]
• [http://210.56.25.21/gsdl/collect/ssk/index/assoc/HASHda9f.dir/doc.pdf Asian Seminar on Community Participation organized by EDI, World Bank, IFAD, Asian and Pacific Centre for Development]
• [http://210.56.25.21/gsdl/collect/ssk/index/assoc/HASH0150.dir/doc.pdf Discussion Between MG and Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan]
• [http://210.56.25.21/gsdl/collect/ssk/index/assoc/HASH5702.dir/doc.pdf Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan Memorial Lecture]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060128/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/NFR%20ANDHRA%20PRADESH.pdf Andhra really shining]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060135/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/NFR%20BAHAWALPUR.pdf NRSP Bahawalpur Region: Incredible Achievements]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060140/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/SPEECH.pdf Speech at UN General Assembly "Eradicating Poverty through Enterprise"]
• [https://archive.today/20130415172229/http://www.rspn.org/publications/NFR%20-%20RSPs%20AT%20THE%20UN.htm RSPs at the United Nations]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060149/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/RGMVP.pdf Two Days with Mr. Rahul Gandhi, MP]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060201/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/NFR%20IDPs%20June%2009.pdf Internally Displaced Persons]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060242/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/NFR%20AMERICAN%20ODYSSEY.pdf American Odyssey]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060250/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/NFR%20BDESH%20VISIT.pdf Invitation by Cherie Blair]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407060255/http://www.rspn.org/publications/PDFs/VISIT%20TO%20RGMVP.pdf Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana]

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.irm.edu.pk/ IRM Official Webpage]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20151119190323/http://www.ahkrc.net.pk/ Akhtar Hameed Khan Resource Center Official Webpage]

{{Pakistani Ramon Magsaysay Award Laureates}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Shoaib Sultan}}

Category:Living people

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Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners

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Category:1933 births

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Category:Social entrepreneurs