Commercial Bank

Askari Bank Limited Overview

History, leadership, ownership, and key facts about the bank founded under the Army Welfare Trust and now run by Fauji Foundation.

• Founded 1991
• PSX: AKBL
• AAA/A-1+ Rated (PACRA)

Last verified September 8, 2026 against Askari Bank's official website

Written & reviewed by Dildar Hussain — 10+ years in Pakistani banking, BS Banking & Finance (NUML University)

Askari Bank Limited is one of Pakistan's mid-tier commercial banks, distinguished by its origins inside the Army Welfare Trust and its current ownership under Fauji Foundation. This page traces every fact about Askari Bank Limited back to an official source, rather than repeating marketing copy.

Askari Bank Limited is the trading identity most people search for, and it is also the bank's full legal name — formerly registered as Askari Commercial Bank before the "Commercial" was dropped. It's a conventional bank with a dedicated Islamic banking division, Askari Ikhlas, running alongside it rather than a separate Islamic-only institution.

This page pulls together what's actually verifiable about Askari Bank: who owns it, who runs it, how big its network really is, and what its credit rating says about its financial standing — all traced to Askari Bank's own official disclosures and PACRA/PSX filings rather than aggregator guesswork.

Askari Bank Limited at a Glance

Founded

9 October 1991

Original Sponsor

Army Welfare Trust

Headquarters

F-8 Markaz, Islamabad

Branch Network

803 branches

ATM Network

974 ATMs

Islamic Branches

411 (Askari Ikhlas)

Credit Rating

AAA/A-1+ (PACRA)

Stock Listing

PSX: AKBL

Because it is regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan like every other scheduled bank, Askari Bank's capital adequacy and governance are subject to the same central-bank oversight described on SBP's own site.

Branch and ATM network figures (803 branches, including 411 Islamic Banking branches, and 974 ATMs) confirmed from Askari Bank's official ATM Locator, checked August 2026 — the most current disclosure available, superseding the 760 branches / 368 Islamic branches reported in the Quarterly Report for the period ended March 31, 2026 and the 888 ATMs reported in the Annual Report 2025 (audited, as of December 31, 2025). Long-term/short-term credit rating was AA+/A1+ (stable) as of the December 2025 audited financials; PACRA subsequently upgraded this to AAA/A-1+ in July 2026.

Ownership: Who Owns Askari Bank?

Askari Bank Limited is majority owned by Fauji Foundation, Pakistan's largest welfare trust and one of its biggest business conglomerates, which was originally established in 1954 to support the welfare of retired armed-forces personnel and their families. Fauji Foundation's shareholding in the bank is held through its subsidiary, Fauji Fertilizer Company, and the consortium's combined stake is reported at approximately 71.91%.

Askari Bank did not start out under Fauji Foundation. It was founded in 1991 under the umbrella of the Army Welfare Trust (AWT), the Pakistan Army's own welfare and commercial arm, which explains the bank's name and its early branding around military-linked housing and welfare projects. Ownership transferred from Army Welfare Trust to Fauji Foundation in June 2013, folding the bank into Fauji Foundation's much larger portfolio of fertilizer, cement, food, energy, and financial-services companies.

Ownership structure and the 2013 transfer confirmed from PACRA's official rating reports on Askari Bank and Fauji Foundation's own corporate disclosures.

Leadership

Leadership details confirmed from Askari Bank's official Board of Directors page and public disclosures around Zia Ijaz's January 2025 appointment as President & CEO.

Scale and Digital Reach

Askari Bank's conventional branch network is complemented by Askari Ikhlas, its dedicated Islamic banking division, which nearly doubled to 365 branches in 2025 (from 198 the year before) and has since grown further to 411 branches as of August 2026, per the bank's official ATM Locator, offering Shariah-compliant personal banking, corporate banking, treasury, and trade services under its own Shariah Board. On the digital side, Askari Bank's ATM network has grown to 974 machines as of August 2026, and the bank has been investing heavily in mobile-first banking, framing its "Askari Edge" and Smart Society App features as central to its 2026 growth strategy.

Awards & Recognition

Awards confirmed from Pakistan Digital Awards 2026 coverage and PACRA's July 2026 rating-upgrade press release.

Good For

• Researching Askari Bank's ownership, leadership, and credit rating before opening an account
• Understanding Askari Bank's Fauji Foundation and Army Welfare Trust origins
• Confirming Askari Bank's PSX listing and current AAA/A-1+ rating
• Getting a fast, sourced answer instead of a marketing summary

Similar Banks

More on Askari Bank

For independent verification, see State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan Stock Exchange, Fauji Foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions