Ahmed Ali Jinnah[a] (born Ahmedali Jinnahbhai[b]) was a businessman and the younger brother of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder and first governor-general of Pakistan. He was born into the prominent Jinnah family of Karachi, then part of British India. While little is documented about his life in the public domain, Ahmed Ali is occasionally referenced in biographies of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and in the context of family inheritance and legal matters.
Ahmed Ali’s birth name was Ahmedali Jinnahbhai, and he was likely born in 1879 to Jinnahbhai Poonja, a merchant of Gujarati descent, and Mithibai Jinnah. Their residence was a rented apartment on the second floor of Wazir Mansion near Karachi, now in Sindh, Pakistan, but at the time fell within the Bombay Presidency of British India. The Jinnah family belonged to the Khoja community, a sect of Shia Muslims originating from Gujarat, who had established themselves within Karachi’s mercantile elite.
Ahmed Ali hailed from an affluent merchant lineage. His father came from a family of textile weavers in the village of Paneli, located in the princely state of Gondal, while his mother originated from the nearby village of Dhaffa. The couple relocated to Karachi in 1875 after marrying. At that time, Karachi was experiencing an economic surge, partly due to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which shortened the maritime route to Europe by approximately 200 nautical miles compared to Bombay.
Ahmed Ali was the second child in the family, with three brothers and four sisters, including his elder brother Muhammad Ali Jinnah and younger sister Fatima Jinnah.[1] Beyond Fatima, little information is available regarding Ahmed Ali or their other siblings, including details of their settlements or whether they maintained contact with Muhammad Ali Jinnah during his rising legal and political prominence.
Raised in a household that negotiated traditional Muslim values alongside the cosmopolitan influences of the British Empire, Ahmed Ali and his siblings received an education that combined both Eastern and Western elements. While Muhammad Ali Jinnah pursued legal studies in England and emerged as a prominent political figure, Ahmed Ali’s trajectory diverged towards business and a private life away from politics.
Ahmed Ali Jinnah is believed to have married a Swiss woman named Emmy. The couple reportedly established their residence in Switzerland and had a daughter, who is occasionally referred to in secondary sources as Fatima Goepfert Jinnah. Subsequently, they relocated to the United States.
In August 2024, the President of Pakistan at the time, Arif Alvi, officially requested the Swiss government to provide copies of archival materials pertaining to Ahmed Ali Jinnah and his family. These documents, preserved in archives in Zurich, encompass photographs and other personal records that may offer additional insight into his life.[2]
Ahmed Ali with his wife, Emilie Jinnah-Halm
Mention in Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s will
Ahmed Ali Jinnah was one of the siblings named in Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s last will and testament. Drafted in May 1939 and probated in 1948, the will made financial arrangements for various members of the family. Each sibling, Ahmed Ali included, was to receive a lifelong monthly allowance of 100 rupees.[3] Although Muhammad Ali Jinnah maintained correspondence with his brother, their relationship was not particularly close.
Death and Legacy
Ahmed Ali Jinnah is believed to have died around 1960 in the United States, where he had reportedly settled later in life. Details surrounding his death and final years are limited, contributing to the overall paucity of information about the brother of the Quaid-e-Azam.
Despite being a direct sibling of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, comparatively little is known about Ahmed Ali Jinnah’s life. His existence remains largely overshadowed by the extensive documentation of his elder brother’s political and legal career. Unlike Muhammad Ali Jinnah, whose life has been the subject of numerous biographies and scholarly studies, Ahmed Ali’s biography has yet to receive comprehensive academic attention. As of 2025, no dedicated biography or detailed academic study of Ahmed Ali Jinnah exists, and many aspects of his life, including his business ventures and personal relationships, remain undocumented in the public record.
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