Born in Pakistan, Abdul completed his B.Sc. Maritime Studies at Pakistan Marine Academy (PMA) and joined the Merchant Navy. At PMA he was awarded with the highest civilian award by the government of Pakistan - the President of Pakistan Gold Medal. On completion of his cadetship, he proceeded to the Australian Maritime College for an Advanced Certificate in Marine Operations (2nd Mate). There he was awarded with the Merchant Navy Association (Tasmania) prize along with a High Achievement Award from the college. Later on he worked on board ships as a Deck Officer of various ranks in different companies, before coming to the UK for further studies.

Abdul completed an HND in Nautical Science from Blackpool & The Fylde College in 2000. Then he joined University of Sunderland for an M.Sc. in Computer Based Information Systems (CBIS). On completion of his studies in the UK, he sailed briefly and then moved to New Zealand for some time where he studied for Graduate Certificate in Shipping at New Zealand Maritime School.

Abdul joined NAFC Marine Centre’s Shetland School of Nautical Studies (then Nautical Studies and Engineering Department of NAFC) as a course developer for the HND Nautical Science which forms part of the cadetship program started in September 2004.

Just before NAFC started enrolling cadets, Abdul's role in the college changed from course developer to full time lecturer in nautical studies. In October 2006, he got promoted to Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for Deck Cadets.

 
In the last year, Abdul’s two co-authored books, Passage Planning Principles and Passage Planning Practice have been published. He has also completed work on another two books; Navigation Basics for the OOW and Safety Officer Notes which are due to be published in near future.

During his time at NAFC, Abdul not only continued with his studies and completed Teaching Qualification for Further Education (TQFE) from Dundee University but he also qualified for membership of Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers through examination. Abdul enjoys his job and considers that learning should never stop; hence he is now enrolled on to another course – Post Graduate Diploma in Ship Management.