Overview
- The Ministry of Finance announced on Saturday that Dr Shamshad Akhtar has died at the age of 71.
- Media reports cite cardiac arrest as the cause of death.
- She was serving as chairperson of the Pakistan Stock Exchange at the time of her passing.
- Akhtar was the first woman to lead the State Bank of Pakistan, serving as its 14th governor from 2006 to 2009, and later served as caretaker finance minister ahead of the 2018 and 2024 elections.
- Her career included senior roles at the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the UN’s ESCAP, while leaders and institutions issued condolences and family sources said funeral prayers would be held in Karachi after Zuhr.