The murder of the first prime minister of Pakistan is still a mystery. But the killing of his suspected assassin appears to be an even bigger puzzle
(The first reaction of any ordinary man to the proposition that assassination may, in certain cases, be justifiable and useful, is revulsion and rejection — Edward Hyams)
WHEN official probe into the high profile assassination of prime minister of Pakistan, Liaqat Ali Khan (Oct 16, 1951) did not bear any fruit, it was rumoured that the government had reluctantly handed over the investigation to crack detectives hired from abroad on lucrative emoluments. It turned out to be an exercise in futility. We believe, to this day, that the solution to our multifarious problems is in the hands of highly paid foreign consultants.
The fabulously remunerated consultants hired through the UN, Unesco, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UNDP etc, have turned Pakistan into a highly developed country in Asia. In the education sector we are far ahead of other countries in this region of the world. Our level of comprehension of geo-political events is astounding. Our socio-cultural and religious tolerance is at its peak. Our political system is so stable that not for once any of our elected governments has been sent back home by a general in our the armed forces. Thanks to the foreign consultants, we have turned into a high-tech industrial country, which assures peace and tranquillity to the teeming tourists. However, the foreign experts cut a sorry figure when assigned with investigations for unearthing brains behind the plots leading to the mysterious deaths of political luminaries in Pakistan.
Death of the Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammed Ali Jinnah shall always be discussed and debated. No doubt he was sick and fragile at the time of his arrival (afternoon of Sept 11, 1948) at the Mauripur Airbase from Quetta. Why was his return to Karachi was kept a secret? Was his handpicked prime minister, Liaqat Ali Khan unaware of the deteriorating health of his benefactor and his arrival in the city? Sending a rickety ambulance for fetching the Quaid-i-Azam from the airbase and the vehicle’s developing trouble on the way, and coming to a halt that stranded the father of the nation for over two hours under unbearable sizzling sun are enigmatic episodes. Lamentably, the plotters and the schemers got away with their unpardonable omissions. The Quaid-i-Azam did not survive the ordeal and passed away the same night, Sept 11, 1948 at about 10.30pm.
Almost three years after the passing away of the Quaid-i-Azam, prime minister of Pakistan Liaqat Ali Khan was assassinated in Rawalpindi. On Oct 16, 1951, he was shot dead in front of thousands of people who had assembled at a public park on the Murree Road to listen to his speech. He was expected to reveal the crux of his numerous meetings with the American president and leading politicians during his visit to the US.
Liaqat Ali Khan took the rostrum and looked at the slogan-raising multitude. He raised his hand and waved it in appreciation. Pin drop silence descended on the crowd. His ADC gave him the file containing notes he had prepared for the speech.
Liaqat Ali Khan glanced at the people. Before he could commence his speech atmosphere was pierced by a bullet that penetrated into the prime minister’s chest. He collapsed. The next moment another shot was heard. The bullet fired from point-blank at the back of (suspected) assassin Syed Akbar pierced through his heart. He collapsed and died then and there. Meanwhile, Liaqat Ali Khan breathed his last at the rostrum. At the spot where Liaqat Ali Khan was assassinated stands a poorly designed and shabbily maintained memorial. The public park now bears the name of ‘the Liaqat Bagh’. In the vicinity of the Liaqat Bagh is situated the Pakistan National Council of the Arts’ theatre, and is known by the name of the Liaqat Memorial Hall. Many years ago, disgusted with an unscripted play I left the theatre halfway. It was almost midnight. While loitering in the Liaqat Bagh I came close to the memorial. I was surprised to see Doonda Mali, an aged gardener sitting alone and staring at the memorial. I knew him. I sat by his side and asked, “What makes you stare at the memorial so often, and that too in the dead of night?”
“Syed Akbar was not the assassin of Liaqat Ali Khan,” Doonda Mali said. “He was gunned down to conceal the identity of the actual killer of the prime minister.”
Doonda Mali was a known senile. His contemporaries believed he had witnessed the assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan. I asked, “What makes you suspicious?”
“The prime minister was standing here,” Doonda Mali touched the memorial, and then walked away westward for about 50 yards. From there he said, “Syed Akbar was gunned down on this spot.” I kept looking at him vacuously. “A bullet fired from this angle would have hit Liaqat Ali Khan in his arm,” Doonda Mali appeared mysterious. He said, “But, the prime minister was hit in the chest.”
I shuddered. All these years I have wondered, if Syed Akbar was not the assassin, then who killed Liaqat Ali Khan, and at whose behest? And, who put a bullet in the back of Syed Akbar to cover up the actual killer of the first prime minister of Pakistan?
