THIS is with reference to the report ‘Mamnoon Hussain laid to rest’ (July 16) according to which the body of the late president was “taken under defined protocol … to the graveyard”. It was shocking that while the ‘defined protocol’ was followed, there was no representation of the state of Pakistan, and nobody bothered about the social tradition of attending the funeral of a contemporary regardless of the political divide.

Mr Hussain, a decent non-controversial human being in his own right, happened to be the 12th president of Pakistan and the immediate predecessor of the incumbent, Dr Arif Alvi. Indeed, he was a nominee of the Nawaz faction of Pakistan Muslim League, but is that a reason good or strong enough for the sitting president, or his nominee, who, in this case, would have been the Sindh Governor in his capacity as the representative of the federation in the province, to stay away from the funeral?

In 2018, when George Bush Senior died, all the living presidents of the United States were there to pay their respects to the departed soul regardless of their political affiliations. Whe Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, no funeral was held, but condolence messages were sent to Nusrat Bhutto by the likes of Abdul Wali Khan, Prof Ghafoor Ahmed and many others who were not only harsh opponents of the man, but were even known to be complicit in Bhutto’s removal from office.

Look at it from whatever angle — global practices, local traditions, social or religious values — the absence of state representation at the funeral of Mamnoon Hussain was regrettable. Whether it was negligence or arrogance on the part of the state, the ruling elite would do well to remember what a poet said long ago:

Dr Syed Shah Talha Iqbal
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2021