Hafeez Khan

The Chaudhries of Gujrat have been prominent in politics for three generations. I have known all three of them. Their patriarch was Chaudhry Zahur Ellahi emerged onto the national scene from rural Gujrat during Ayub Khan’s regime. He was a close associate of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the National Assembly at the start of Bhutto’s […]

I have vivid memories of PTI’s founding event at Holiday Inn, Lahore in April 1996. My late friend, Ahsan Rashid, and Mehmood Awan, and I drove to the venue ahead of IK to get a feel and flavour of the attendees. The hall was abuzz with anticipation. Mazhar Sahi, a former Olympian had come from […]

There are many versions regarding the final words of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto before he was led to the gallows. There is one, favoured by his supporters. It narrates that as the noose was tightened, Bhutto was in a defiant mood and told the highly nervous executioner, “Finish it”. Then there are other narratives, some claiming […]

One of my favourite pastimes on our farm was to have “poona,” an indigenous variety of sugarcane, harvested and have it squeezed for fresh “roh”, sugarcane juice. After sunset in autumn evenings, we would sit under a banyan tree near a “karaha” an oval wide utensil heated by firewood, to produce “gur” chunks of brown […]

In the early days of the PTI, Chairman Imran Khan gave me the responsibility of organizing the Party. Mairaj Mohammad Khan, a political icon and once designated the successor of Bhutto, was PTI’s General Secretary. Since he was based in Karachi, he was unable to spend time in Islamabad. Hence, I had to fulfil this […]

Nearly a hundred years ago in 1920, the US amended their Constitution, prohibiting the production, import, transportation and sale of Alcohol nationwide. It was a radical change that was in the making since the 19th century led by fundamentalist Protestants seeking to rid the society of its moral ills. It was called the “Volstead Act,” […]

I was in my library prepping for a long-distance call when the ground under my feet started to move. It did not register right away. However, as the tremors continued, I called my wife and staff to step outside. By then, it was all over. The duration was a little over a minute, long enough […]

“Chuj tey bolday sun hun chananee we boldi aiy.” In the days gone by, wheat and chaff were separated manually using a handheld device called “Chuj.” It was used mostly by women sitting in groups. It was a scene worth watching; “chuj” emitting a rhythmic sound. It was a part of celebrating the harvest season […]

I have shared this anecdote previously. However, the events of 8th March gave it a new meaning. In 1997. we were organizing PTI and holding corner meetings for Chairman Imran Khan to mobilize support for the forthcoming elections. One such meeting was held in Kahna, a suburban town near Lahore. I had the responsibility of […]

Pakistan has only one national anthem. However, on occasions, a particular song sinks into the psyche of the nation and takes on proportions larger than the anthem. During the 1965 war, Madam Nur Jehan’s rendering “meray dhol sipahia tano rab diya rakhan,” was a tonic that galvanized the nation. It captured the feelings and motivated […]