Architect and educator Kausar Bashir Ahmad passed away on Thursday, November 9 2006, leaving behind many mourners in Pakistan's architectural community. He was a major force in architectural education in Pakistan since 1978, teaching socially responsive architecture at Dawood College in Karachi. His initiatives included the Orangi Pilot Project, the Aga Khan Rural Support Program, and the Urban Resource Center. The recipient of the Royal Institute of British Architects' first Annie Spink Award for Architecture Education, Kausar Bashir Ahmed was also known as a true darwish, a humanist, and a fine Urdu poet.