KARACHI: It was on Feb 1, 1961 that Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday at Balmoral, landed in Karachi with her husband Prince Philip. She was 34 years of age at the time.

The queen and her husband were received at Karachi airport by then president of the country Gen Ayub Khan. She stayed at the airport for less than half an hour where she was given a 21-gun royal salute followed by a 100-men salute. She then went to Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum where she was welcomed by the administrator of Karachi, Agha Abdul Hamid. She laid a wreath at the mazar. Apart from Prince Philip, she was accompanied by Lady Rose Baring, Lady of the Chamber, Sir Alexander Symon, the British High Commissioner in Pakistan, and the Minister-in-Waiting, M F Khan.

Newspaper reports suggest that thousands came to get a glimpse of the queen when she left the airport or when her Cadillac passed through Victoria Road and PECHS to reach venues where she was to make an appearance. She was extremely popular.

Why was she popular? Answer: because Queen Elizabeth II had an air of affection about her, and those who met her say that she had a disarming charm. Also, as one would expect of a monarch, she weighed her words before uttering them. Her address to the citizens of Karachi at a public reception in the lawns of the Frere Hall Gardens on the second day of her tour was worth listening to in which she resolved to ‘follow with interest the fortunes of Karachi’.

Referring to the ‘new citizens’ who brought with them nothing but ‘hands to work with and a burning faith in the future’, she said: “So many to be fed and given water and shelter, and then housing and power and all the services of a large city as quickly as possible.”

Lauding the citizens for having faced and solved those problems with courage, she remarked, “That Karachi survived this invasion, kept going, and finally absorbed it in such arduous and remarkable circumstances, is one of Pakistan’s most striking achievements.”

At the end of her short but meaningful speech, the queen surprised everyone by thanking them in Urdu, “Aap hazraat ka buhat buhat shukria” (thank you all very much). It led to a lengthy, heartfelt applause from the audience, including the president of Pakistan.

In Karachi, among other dignitaries, she met a group of journalists and spent four hours at the Pakistan Naval Dockyard, carrying out a review of a dozen bedecked ship of the PN Fleet.

Against the run of play, on the night of Feb 3, one-hour-long heavy rains disrupted life in many parts of the city by the sea, especially the low-lying areas. Fortunately, they did not continue for long. Queen Elizabeth II fulfilled all her obligations in Karachi after which she flew out to other parts of Pakistan to complete her 16-day visit.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2022