Daily Times

The first thing I saw on that Monday morning was a fateful WhatsApp message. The news was devastating. My beloved guru, Rehman Bhai, had passed away in his sleep in Lahore, at the age of 90.

IA Rehman was, as we all knew, a man of great depth, representing the very best of all God’s creatures. He was, too a man of conviction, a gentle soul whose infinite compassion allowed him to feel and do for others. He remained, of course, a true Marxist to the core. Yet whenever one saw him, one couldn’t help be reminded of one of the most outstanding men of all time — Maulana Hasrat Mohani. The latter was a poet, journalist and entrepreneur par excellence. As was our cherished Rehman Bhai, the likes of whom are born once in a century.

I, too, am considered a veteran journalist, having spent many moons weathering all kinds of storms. Yet just a few minutes in Rehman Bhai’s company would be enough to open the floodgates to his veritable reservoir of knowledge. I became a journalist in 1962, by which time my dear friend had already spent more years than I in the company of the profession’s virtuosos. Indeed, he was well versed in probably most of the subjects a journalist should be. And while he had a reasonable gift of the gab — his command over both English and Urdu was unparalleled. However, being a working journalist I was stationed in Karachi while Rehman Bhai was in Lahore. The opportunities for us to collaborate for the cause of good journalism and the presentation of unfiltered facts, were, sadly, few and far between. Our paths did cross, however, at professional functions. And any time spent in Rehman Bhai’s company invariably resulted in accompanying him on his latest treasure hunt. Whenever we managed to sit down and exchange views on the the prevailing political and socio-economic landscape — Rehman Bhai would come up with amazing out-of-the-box solutions. And all this was done without the typical Marxist jargon that communists often invoke to win the argument.

For my part, I had the privilege of learning how to bypass censorship from two media maestros. One, of course, was the founder of Jang, Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman, known as the pioneer of journalism in Pakistan. The other was Rehman Bhai, who had mastered the art of writing in such a way that even ordinary readers could easily read between the lines.

I had the privilege of learning how to bypass censorship from two media maestros. One, of course, was the founder of Jang, Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman, known as the pioneer of journalism in Pakistan. The other was Rehman Bhai, who had mastered the art of writing in such a way that even ordinary readers could easily read between the lines

In 2008, the democratic process brought an end to Gen Pervez Musharraf’s military rule. It had been a dark period, during which the latter had ordered the killing of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti. Similarly, Benazir Bhutto was murdered in cold blood on Musharraf’s watch. Elsewhere, the socio-economic landscape was bleak.

I can still recall my conversation with then Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Musharraf’s successor. He spoke at length, lamenting the exploitation of the armed forces by military dictators which had taken its toll on morale; as had happened back in 1971. I was informed that the situation had become so severe that Army personnel were being instructed not to move about individually in the civilian areas of Lahore, to avoid the wrath the citizenry. It was, indeed, a sorry state of affairs.

Much water has flowed down the Indus River since then. Tribal areas that had seen no military operations — since the post-Independence drive to establish law and order — have remained in turmoil. First came the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan back in 1979 and, more recently, our western neighbour has been left in the hands of the Taliban; and each time it falls to our Army to the sort out the mess. Thus the military is forced to carry out fully-fledged anti-terrorist operations in Pakistan’s northern areas. Though we claim to have cleared all strongholds from the control of the Afghan Taliban as well as other brigands — the fact remains that the battle has not yet been won. Intermittent terrorist activity still continues and claims shahadat for many of our young soldiers. Against this victorious backdrop, nonetheless, Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa — while seeking peace with India — has persuaded Imran Khan’s government to introduce a legislation to criminalise intentional disrespecting the armed forces. Perhaps it should called something like, “Fauji Ki Izzat Ka Bill” or honour thy armed forces.

Rehman Bhai is indeed fortunate to have left this world before the aforementioned could be fully set in stone. For it would have meant yet another mammoth struggle against the deep state in the battle to uphold the sanctity of Parliament.

The writer is former High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK and a veteran journalist