A Century of Rotary Service in Pakistan, Preserved in Print

Landmark anthology “From 1927 to Pakistan 2027: 100 Years of Rotary Service in Pakistan” launched at the Rotary International District 3271 Installation Ceremony

KARACHI, Pakistan — A century of humanitarian service found a permanent home this week as From 1927 to Pakistan 2027: 100 Years of Rotary Service in Pakistan was formally unveiled at the Rotary International District 3271 Installation Ceremony for 2026–27, which installed District Governor 2026-27, Shahzad Sabir. Anthologized by PP Syed Kashif Rafi, the volume is the first comprehensive chronicle of Rotary’s hundred-year footprint across the nation — a record of compassion, leadership, and fellowship that have defined the movement here since its earliest days.

The launch was graced by Jennifer A. Scott, Director 2025–27, Rotary International, who attended as Chief Guest and lent global stature to a distinctly national milestone.

Produced under the guidance and leadership of District Governor, 2025-26, Shakeel Kaim Khani, the book caps more than a year of research, archival recovery, and storytelling. What began as a single idea grew into a sweeping act of preservation, surfacing accounts of service that had long lived only in memory and personal collections. The title deliberately bridges two milestones: 1927, when the first Rotary club in present-day Pakistan was chartered in Lahore — for nearly a decade the only club on the subcontinent besides Calcutta — and 2027, the true centenary of that founding.

“This is far more than a historical record,” said PP Syed Kashif Rafi, the book’s anthologist. “It is a tribute to every Rotarian who has lived the ideal of Service Above Self, and a promise to the generations who will carry that mission forward. As we traced Rotary’s story in Pakistan, we found more acts of quiet courage and selflessness than any single book could hold. This one belongs to all of them.”

The project drew on the guidance of some of Rotary’s most respected figures. Reflecting on the initiative, PRID Muhammad Faiz Kidwai said:

“A history like this is not written in a year; it is lived across a century and finally given voice by those with the devotion to record it. Kashif and his team have rendered an enduring service to Rotary in Pakistan — one that will outlast us all.”

PDG Muhammad Iqbal Qureshi, who served as Patron of the project, added:

“I believed in this vision from the very first conversation, and I am humbled to have championed it to completion. This book is a gift from our generation of Rotarians to the next — a compass pointing them toward a second century of service.”

The core editorial and research team comprised RPIC Syed Tahzeeb Kazmi, Waqar Ahmed Shaikh, Kishwar Allawala, and Atiqua Vally, alongside the late Colonel Sajid Baseer, whose contributions the team honored at the launch. The book is published by Rotary Humanitarian Trust.

More than a commemorative title, the anthology is intended as a living archive — safeguarding Rotary’s heritage and inspiring future Rotarians to sustain a legacy of measurable community impact.

“Here’s to 100 years of Rotary service in Pakistan,” Rafi added, “and to the next hundred.”