A GREAT political figure of Pakistan, Rasool Bakhsh Palijo, passed away on Thursday. He struggled against four military dictatorships to help restore democracy. He founded Awami Tehreek in 1978 and broke new ground by mobilizing men, women and students to join his party.

A well-read man, he was influenced by the writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Ho Chi-minh. He opposed Pakistan’s pro-American foreign policy and believed in class struggle. Among Pakistani politicians he admired were Z. A. Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, G.M. Syed, Akbar Bugti, Khair Bux Mari, Attaullah Mengal, Wali Khan, Begum Naseem Wali Khan and Mahmood Khan Achakzai.

A lawyer by profession, he was a poet, short-story writer, orator and literacy critic and went to jail 12 times for his radical ideas. May he rest in peace.

Ayaz Ali Samo

Beijing N. University, China

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2018