Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan (1914–1999) was the founder and first Director of the project,Allama Mashriqi & Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan: Two Legends of Pakistan, Nasim Yousaf, Xlibris Corporation, 2003, and through his dynamic and innovative skills1998, Ashok Nigam and Sadig Rasheed,Financing of Fresh Water for All: A Rights Based Approach, UNICEF Staff Working Papers. Evaluation, Policy and Planning Series, No. EPP-EVL-98-003 managed to bring modern sanitation to the squatter community of 1 million people. He had previously organised farmers' cooperatives and rural training centres and had served as an adviser to various development projects in Pakistan.
