Graduate awarded OBE for community service

A University of Wolverhampton graduate was recognised recently in the first King’s Honours after being awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE). 

Asrar Ul-Haq, Deputy Lieutenant to Greater Manchester, who studied for a degree in Applied Science and graduated in 1984, was named recently as one of the recipients of the prestigious award.  

Asrar, who lives in Rochdale, has received the honour for services to the community in Greater Manchester. 

Asrar was made a Deputy Lieutenant to Greater Manchester last year, a role which was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen for individual community endeavours over many years working to enhance the fabric of Greater Manchester, recognising their contribution to local, county, or national life. 

Having served as a police officer for 30 years, Asrar received numerous awards and commendations from High Court Judges, Magistrates and Chief Constables for his work. He received a national award for Innovation in Policing from the Home Secretary and later was the recipient of a national award for Inspirational Leadership. 

He served in a range of departments including the CID and was the Inspector responsible for policing the City Centre of Manchester - regarded one of the busiest/challenging locations - and later served as a Detective Chief Inspector in the Prevention of Terrorism Unit, London. 

Now retired, Asrar remains a consultant and a subject matter expert for the National Crime Agency and is a member of the Greater Manchester Advisory Committee to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice. He was a member of the University of Manchester General Assembly and a non-executive director of a mutual housing organisation. 

He facilitated the Natural Born Leaders programme delivered at local sixth form colleges to help people from underrepresented groups develop leadership skills and sat on a steering committee for Cancer Research UK. 

Since retirement, he has also voluntarily worked in refugee camps in Greece following the crisis in the middle east where he supported many displaced people, including setting up outdoor cinemas for children in the evenings using old PowerPoint projectors. 

Locally in Rochdale, Asrar, together with his family, run the Amaani Initiative: a project aimed at enhancing the local environment and making people more climate aware, with the aim of tackling climate change. He was recognised by the Royal Horticultural Society for his contributions and North West in Bloom for his work in the local community and Masjids in Bloom.