Syed Ali Hussain – Chief Architect of the Pakistan Public Works Department
Syed Ali Hussain, son of Syed Musa Kazim, was born in Kujhwa, Saran (Bihar) in 1924. He had three siblings, Syedah Begum, Syed Muhammad, and Hassan Naqvi.
After completing his early education from Chapra, Patna, and Aligarh he migrated to Pakistan and accomplished his Bachelors in Engineering from N.E.D College, Karachi.
In 1947, he got married to Umme Kulsum, daughter of Syed Ali Amir (B.Sc. Engineering, I.E.S., 1919 batch) Chief Engineer, P.W.D., Bihar (Patna), and Pakistan. After retirement from P.W.D., Pakistan in 1950, Mr. Amir had settled in Karachi where he died. Khan Sahib Syed Muhammad Amir (B.A., Deputy Collector, 1915 batch), Syed Ali Abbas (B.A., D.I.G., 1936 batch), and Syed Abul Fazlil Abbas (B.Sc., I.A.S., 1937 batch) were the brothers of Mr. Amir.
Syed Muhammad Naqvi, M.A., was the son in law of Syed Muhammad Amir and he was selected as a Deputy Collector on 28th December 1936.
Beginning his career with the Public Works Department, Mr. Hussain, in 1960, was sent to the University of Liverpool under the British Council Fellowship to study the nuances of Town Planning. Serving as the Director of Planning from 1962 to 1975 with the Capital Development Authority he oversaw the development of the new capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad.
From 1975 to 1978 he was deputed to Tanzania to monitor the development of its city, Dodoma. Serving as Chief Architect of the Pakistan Public Works Department from 1975 to 1986 he steered the organization to greater heights. After his superannuation in 1986, he worked as a Consultant to an engineering firm from 1989 to 1992. He was also associated as a Professional Expert with the World Bank Kutchi Abadi Project from 1992 to 1994.
After a flourishing career and writing a book, Holy Quran and Ahlal – Bayat [A.S.], he died peacefully in Karachi in 2002. He was survived by two sons, Syed Qamar Hasnain and Syed Raza Husain.
