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MUZAFFARABAD, May 31 (APP):In a significant academic achievement, Mr. Ali Abidi, a PhD scholar in Economics at the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK), has successfully defended his doctoral thesis titled “Role of Divine Capital in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Theoretical and Empirical Analysis.”
The research introduces an alternative to conventional economic thought by grounding sustainable development in spiritually informed economic behavior.
Mr. Abidi’s thesis critically evaluates the philosophical limitations of neoclassical economics in addressing global sustainability challenges. It proposes Divine Economics, a paradigm where human behavior is shaped not solely by self-interest but by deeper moral, spiritual, and communal values. The framework incorporates concern for the individual, family, nation, environment, and the ultimate reality, offering a value-based foundation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The research was supervised by Dr. Atiq ur Rehman and Dr. Muhammad Jamil, while the external evaluation was conducted by eminent economists Dr. Zahid Siddique Mughal and Dr. Iftikhar Hussain Adil from NUST, Islamabad. The public defense, held at the Kashmir Institute of Economics, was attended by faculty members, students, and researchers from various departments of UAJK.
Dr. Ali Abidi is the son of renowned economist Prof. Dr. Syed Nisar Hussain Hamdani, the founding figure behind Divine Economics and former Director of the Kashmir Institute of Economics.
Prof. Hamdani’s pioneering work has earned international recognition for challenging the utilitarian foundations of mainstream economics and for promoting a spiritually enriched approach to economic policymaking. His model has paved the way for a new generation of economists to explore dimensions of faith, ethics, and social responsibility in economic behavior and development theory.
In extending its congratulations, the UAJK’s community commended Dr. Abidi for his remarkable contribution to the academic discourse. It reaffirmed its commitment to fostering research that bridges tradition, spirituality, and modern development needs.