Islamia College Peshawar is one of earliest places of learning constructed for Muslims of the subcontinent. It was founded by the personal initiatives led by Sir S.A. Qayyum and Sir George Roos-Keppel in 1913. It is one the oldest institutions of higher education in Pakistan and its historical roots are traced from the culminating point of the Aligarh Movement. The students of this institution played an important role in the independence of Pakistan.
The construction work on Islamia College started in the second half of 1912. The programme of construction included an Arts college, a Dar-ul-Uloom, a hostel, a high school and three hostels, a mosque and residences for the principal and headmaster. The High School which consisted of 26 rooms and one school hostel were ready before the spring of 1913. Its building, which is the best embodiment of Muslim civilisation in south Asia and its lush green lawns attract visitors from all over the country and abroad.
Islamia College Peshawar is the best example of endowments. According to the Board of Trustees, the College, which is spread over 300 acres of land, has 1,089 Jaribs of cultivable land in Harichand, Rai Killi and Tarnab in Charsadda. In addition to this there are 395 shops and flats in the Khyber Bazaar Peshawar and main bazaar Charsadda.
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah visited this College in 1936, 1945 and 1948. Quaid-e-Azam who became a lifelong honorary member of the Khyber Union ICP in 1936 made the College one of the heirs of his property in 1939. The Quaid Trust later on paid an amount of Rs.10,811,600 in different installments to the College. His will bequeathing one part of his residuary estate to Islamia College Peshawar is a historic document treasured by the college and reveals his dedication to the students of Peshawar. TW
