ISLAMABAD: “It was around 1970-71 when I was introduced to Raja Asghar through [his Dawn colleagues] Ahmed Hassan Alvi and Mohammad Yasin. I would often go to meet Israr Ahmed in the hopes of pilfering some of his books – he had the best reading material but wasn’t too keen on sharing it – and that’s where I met Raja Sahib.”

This is how Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid recalled his first meetings with the late Raja Asghar, senior journalist and veteran parliamentary reporter.

Speaking at ‘Remembering Raja Asghar’, a reference held in the memory of the departed, he recalled how he would visit Mr Asghar at the APP offices, where he would be made to read Reuters wire copies as they came off the tele-printer. “He said that it will help ensure that I don’t [fail] my English exam,” he said with a chuckle.

“We would borrow his scooter, a 1962 Vespa, and ride it around town until the fuel ran out,” he recounted, saying that Mr Asghar would never get angry with them.

The reference, held at the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services was attended by Mr Asghar’s family members, journalists, parliamentary reporters, parliamentarians and people from all walks of life.

Paying tribute to Mr Asghar’s half-a-century worth of services to journalism, Siddiq Sajid of the Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA) announced that PRA would constitute a ‘Raja Asghar award’, which would be awarded to the outstanding parliamentary reporter annually.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani paid tribute to the deaprted, saying that when he first came to parliament, Mr Asghar would analyse his interventions and speeches in the house and give suggestions on how he could improve.

Referring to Mr Asghar’s unimpeachable integrity, he said that when he was in opposition, Mr Asghar would visit him at his chambers. But when he joined the cabinet, Mr Asghar didn’t come see him in his chambers even once.

“Mr Asghar also struggled for the wage board award for journalists. Even the PPP government could not find a solution to that issue, but I hope that Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and his government will be able to resolve this issue during their tenure,” he said.

Veteran journalist M. Ziauddin lauded Mr Asghar’s achievements, both as a trade unionist and as a worker.

“His work in parliamentary reporting was unique. He used to attend the session from start to finish and he had quality of composing concise the sentences that were able to cover the whole session in the minimum amount of words,” he said.

Long-time friend and colleague Anwar Ali Mansuri said that people should celebrate the goodness in men rather than mourning them. “From him, I learnt to understand people before judging them,” he said.

Former APP Director General Mohammad Aftab, one of Mr Asghar’s contemporaries, described him as a hardworking person, and recalled that he always did his work quietly.

Kashmiri journalist Abid Khursheed recalled Mr Asghar’s philanthropic tendencies. He recalled that Mr Asghar would buy sewing machines from the Sunday bazaar for the women of his village.

Journalist Matiullah Jan, who was the master of ceremonies, read out excerpts from Raja Asghar’s parliamentary diaries from 2002 and 2015 between speakers, and drew parallels between days bygone and current events.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2016