Condolence reference held

KARACHI: A condolence reference in memory of (late) Prof Masihuddin Ahmad Siddiqui was held at the Arts Council of Pakistan on Tuesday. The programme was presided over by Dr Jamil Jalebi and addressed by Dr Abul Khair Kashfi, Dr Aslam Farrukhi, Haji Mohammad Hanif Tayyab, Prof Anwar Ahmad Zai, Zahid Hussain, and (late) Siddiqui’s son Shoaib Siddiqui and others.

At the outset, Nadeem Shaikh, Secretary of the Memorial Society, named after Prof Siddiqui, presented a brief introduction of the late professor, a former director-general of the Academy of Letters. Dr Jamil Jalebi recalled his meetings with Prof Siddiqui in Islamabad and admired his commanding knowledge of both Urdu and English and his quest for other languages. For the benefit of foreigners, he could translate Iqbal, Faiz and other Urdu poets into English with ease, taking care of their poetic nuances. Having studied at the Leeds University, England, his knowledge of English and Urdu literatures was amazing.

Dr Aslam Farrukhi said he and the late Siddiqui had joined SM College in 1954 and were later colleagues at the D.J. Science College. Dr Farrukhi, a longtime friend of Prof Siddiqui, recalled cherished memories spread over decades. Justice Akhtar Ali Qazi, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, and many other noted figures had the privilege of being late Siddiqui’s disciples. So was Haji Hanif Tayyab who remembered his chance meeting with Dr Siddiqui when the former was a minister in Zia’s cabinet.

Dr Siddiqui had served the government in several capacities: as an adviser, administrator in compilation of English textbooks and on the University Grants Commission. He was a pious and generous man, a well wisher of the needy students, modest and humane, the speakers recalled.

Nadeem Shaikh informed the audience about his society’s services in the education sector. — H.A.