ON Oct 16, today, in 1951, Liaquat Ali Khan was martyred, leaving the nation in shock and grief. The man, who had fought tirelessly for the independence of Pakistan, became a victim of conspiracy hatched by his own countrymen. The irony is that after more than six decades, the names of the culprits have not been made public.

Jinnah had such confidence in Liaquat that he appointed him the general-secretary of the All-India Muslim League in 1936 and he continued to hold that position till 1947. In 1938, in Patna, Jinnah acknowledged his services and remarked that Liaquat was the greatest asset that the Muslims of India had in their midst. Jinnah appointed him, along with Fatima Jinnah, a trustee of the Quaid’s estate.

Sadly, Liaquat is criticised by certain quarters apparently with an axe to grind. One accusation relates to the breaking down of the ambulance in which the ailing Quaid was being shifted to the Governor-General House. Much is made of the fact that no one from the government went to receive the Quaid when he arrived from Ziarat. The established fact is that the Quaid had directed his staff to keep his arrival in Karachi a secret as he never wanted to be seen by his nation on a stretcher.

Liaquat’s first visit to the United States, instead of the Soviet Union, has also been a point of criticism by the so-called ‘patriotic’ Pakistanis. They do not know that the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had proposed a date that coincided with the Independence Day celebration of Pakistan.

Besides, there is another angle to the tale. Dr Samiullah Koreshi, who was posted in Moscow, writes in his book, Diplomats and Democracy: Story of an Era: 1947-1987, that Shuaib Qureshi, who was the country’s first ambassador to the USSR, had called on Andrei Gromyko, who was deputy foreign minister at the time, to tell him that the prime minister had dispatched him to make arrangements for his visit to Moscow in response to their invitation. Upon this, Gromyko replied: “Our invitation to your prime minister? Oh, you mean your proposal that he come here.” The Soviet government did not revert to the subject.

Another controversy related to Liaquat is about the Objectives Resolution. The critics have probably never bothered to read the document and are not aware of what the actual draft was, as presented by an alliance of religious parties, and what changes the prime minister made.

There was one infamous Rawalpindi conspiracy case, wherein some serving and retired armed forces personnel along with a number of civilians were found to be planning to overthrow the government. It is an irony that those who conspired against Liaquat were subsequently portrayed as ‘patriots’.

Liaquat had left behind property in India, beyond the imagination of those who think themselves ‘great’, but he never claimed anything in exchange. Whenever any friend of his would persuade him to file a claim in lieu of his property, he would simply say he would do that only after every Muslim refugee had received his fair share.

In today’s Pakistan, it is just about impossible to find people of such integrity, honesty and honour. A heavy responsibility falls on the national media to highlight the sacrifices of true leaders of Pakistan, who are vanishing not only from textbooks, but from the minds of fellow Pakistanis.

Aamir Aqil
Lahore

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2023