RECENTLY I came to know that Akbar Ali Khan, the younger son of the first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, is seriously ill and his family has requested the government for financial assistance regarding his treatment. The Sindh government has offered to make arrangements, and that is what it should have done long ago, but that does not resolve the conundrum in my mind, which, I am sure, would have agitated the minds of many.

Akbar is not only the son of a prime minister, but his father was a Nawab, with properties spread all over Muzaffarnagar. His residence, Gul-i-Rana, in Delhi, which is now the official residence of Pakistan’s high commissioner in India, is estimated to be of worth over four billion Indian rupees at the current market rate.

He left that house fully furnished with expensive and exquisite items, and left it with just one suitcase having clothes for daily use. Now the son of one of the richest men of India before the great divide is in need of financial help for his medical treatment.

Had Liaquat Ali Khan stayed back in India, his descendants would have been billionaires, as he owned virtually all of Muzaffarnagar, and his son would not have been in such financial stress.

On the contrary, we see every day people whose fathers and grandfathers were almost penniless before coming to Pakistan from India, but they lead a life of utter luxury. Their lifestyle is dotted with expensive hotels here and abroad, they play what only the elite can play, and get the world’s best and the most expensive medical treatment when they need it.

Liaquat Ali Khan, being a highly educated individual hailing from a noble family, never showed any intent to amass wealth. Instead, he dedicated his life to the country, and let his children make their own careers by working hard not at the cost of country’s resources.

Today, one of his great grandsons is making a living out of a career in show business; far from enjoying a luxurious life because his great grandfather was not a money-seeker by any yardstick.

Apparently, the name of Liaquat Ali Khan is vanishing from our history books because of the vested interests of certain quarters, as the list of the ‘sins’ of that great leader is too long — he was honest, patriotic and sincere to the country, he sacrificed his wealth for the country, lived for the country and died for the county. These are cardinal ‘sins’ in today’s Pakistan.

Our leaders must take notice that Liaquat Ali Khan, having left all his property in India, refused to file a claim to which he was entitled as a ‘refugee’. He did not amass property and sugar mills.

This is the difference of Pakistan then and now; this is the difference of leadership then and now; this is the difference of moral and ethical values then and now.

Aamir Aqil
Lahore

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2021