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| Ali Rehman Malik |
It is with great difficulty and a heavy and burdensome heart that I lift my pen today to write a few lines in the memory of my late father, senior leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Abdul Rehman Malik. From a humble background, he rose to serve Pakistan in the capacity of the Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a Senator and as yet, the longest serving Minister for Interior, who left us bereaved forever on February 23, 2022.
His rise is a testament to what one man can achieve against the odds through the sheer tenacity of his will, through hard work, an unassailable adherence to his principles and an undying love for his country and its people.
I have yet not reconciled to the fact that my loving father is no more and I will no longer be able to bask in the sunshine of his affection. My heart is aching at being deprived of his blessings and of the unconditional love of a father who was always alert to our needs and happiness, even before we were aware of them. It breaks my heart that his grandchildren will never be able to meet the greatest man I ever had the honour of knowing. Apart from being a devoted father, he was a great and compassionate human being who always cared for others and who was always concerned about the problems of the poor and oppressed.
The ripples of the kindnesses he extended to people from all walks of life are only coming to me now, after his passing, as in his humility, never did he mention the help he had extended to those in need during his life. Never was his door closed to one in need.
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With Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari & Aseefa Bhutto Zardari |
He had a strong desire to help hardworking boys and girls, men and women, to achieve what they were capable of achieving, and not be hindered by societal and economic circumstances. He was so considerate about others that while admitted in the hospital, he forbade not only our family members from visiting him in the room, but even those who came to inquire about his health, even though he tested negative for coronavirus.
The memory that will haunt me forever but will also remind me of his care for others, was during his last moments before going on the ventilator, as his heart rate climbed higher than 170, as doctors were preparing to intubate him, as he was staring the possibility of death straight in the face, he had the care in his heart to push my outreached hand out of the way and forbade me from touching him to protect me from catching the virus that took his life.
The outpouring of nationwide grief and support that has come from all quarters is a touching reminder of his selfless nature. He was a symbol of strength and power, yet so full of love and humour: A truly great force, a soul that descends to this earth perhaps once in a generation.
My father’s most noteworthy characteristic was that anyone who came to seek his help or favour was attended to with great alacrity and while the applicant could have probably forgotten that he ever made a request, my father never did. He immediately tried to redress the grievance and would ask his staff to call the applicant to inform them about the status of his request. One thing that I have observed closely is that he never led an easy and comfortable life but rather always followed Quaid-e-Azam’s principle: ‘work, work and work’. Despite our requests to take a break and some rest, he gave preference to work. We, the family, would seek his attention while traveling with him, but found him doing one thing or another. He always valued time and never wasted a minute, but today, however, we wish he had spent his whole life just sitting and talking with us.
It is perhaps human to think one will have more time. More time to talk about the things left unsaid, to share the love still left unshared, and to do all those seemingly little things that inevitably become the big things, once the person has departed. I feel like he had dedicated his whole life to his country, his party, and the people of Pakistan, and that was always his mission. No force on this earth could have changed his unquenchable desire to bring justice to those in need of it. He never desired more money than he needed. He was a simple man, with very simple tastes. Even when we managed to steal him away abroad for a rare short holiday, he would only ever eat daal and roti.
He would sit for hours in deep meditation, evaluating national situations in his mind, which it must be said at this juncture, was an incredibly sharp mind to the last—able to cut through the frill and pomp of any circumstance and tackle the issue at the root. This, combined with his years of experience as an investigator, and his wide breadth of knowledge of both national and international geopolitical issues and systems made him into the undeniable force of nature that he was.
As a senior FIA officer, he carried out innumerable difficult and extremely dangerous tasks and conducted many high-profile investigations and raids which required not only wisdom, intelligence and foresight, but also bravery. In 1995, the Government of Pakistan conferred upon him the Sitara-e-Shujaat gallantry award for his valour, and in 2012, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, during his tenure as Interior Minister of Pakistan, in the most challenging time of terrorism, because instead of staying behind secure walls, he challenged the terrorists openly and fought against them on the front line. Whenever there was an unfortunate incident of terrorism anywhere across Pakistan, he rushed to the spot fearlessly. A day after the APS Peshawar massacre, I called him to inquire about his well being, but I found out that he was in Peshawar and was sitting with the families of the martyred school children, giving them support. When hundreds of innocent people were killed in a terrorist attack in the far flung, then tribal area, of Parachinar and all roads to the town were blocked, he requested the Air Chief for the provision of a helicopter and reached there, although his landing was not allowed due to threats on the ground. He could never remain away from his people and always took maximum risks to reach out to them in times of trouble.
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| Late Abdul Rehman Malik's book 'Top 100 Investigations' |
We had never imagined that the coronavirus, about which my father was the first in Pakistan to take notice—as the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, he was creating awareness among the people and had alerted the government about its devastating consequences on our society and economy—would one day take his life. He was the first who had called the meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Interior on an urgent basis when the pandemic broke out in our neighbouring countries and proposed a 27-point plan to counter coronavirus to the government. He also wrote letters to the United Nations Secretary-General, DG WHO and Mr Bill Gates requesting them to help Pakistan and other developing countries during the pandemic, while also pleading to thoroughly investigate the origin of coronavirus.
Besides four other books, he had also written one on coronavirus titled, “Coronavirus: A Threat to National Security” in a very short period. There was not a single issue of national and public importance—whether it was terrorism or any foreign conspiracy against Pakistan in FATF, the World Bank, and the IMF—on which my late father had remained silent. He always took the initiative to raise his voice for the country and the nation at every forum without caring for his life.
He wrote several letters to the FATF President about discrimination against Pakistan and the favouring of India and had charge sheeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his unprecedented crimes against humanity in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir. He wrote a book, ‘Bleeding Kashmir’ exposing Indian forces’ brutalities and the ‘Modi War Doctrine’ in which he elaborated on Modi’s war crimes and malicious intentions of pushing the region into war and terror. He had also written several letters to the Prime Minister of Pakistan urging him to take the case of war crimes in Indian Occupied Kashmir to the United Nations and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He always stood by the oppressed people of Kashmir, raised his voice for them at every forum, and always participated in their protests. He said that seeing an Independent Kashmir, free from India’s cruel clutches, was the dream of his life.
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| Addressing Press Conference at his residence on FATF decision |
Many friends, including family members, advised him not to speak so harshly against terrorists as they could target him, but he always dismissed our fears saying that terrorists are enemies of humanity and Pakistan and he can never be a silent spectator to their cruelty. He said that the night destined in the grave can never be spent at home. His love for Pakistan was matchless and it was the most difficult time of his life that he spent away from Pakistan during his exile; the return to his beloved homeland, seeming like a distant possibility at the time.
After he retired from the Senate of Pakistan, the family urged him to spend some time with his loved ones and to get some rest, but he always said that he could never stop serving his country.
I have never seen such a generous and kind person in my life who had not the slightest hatred for anyone in his heart. He was always forgiving and did not teach us to despise anyone for any reason. In his long career, he made friends at every step, and in his legacy, he left us love, respect, care, loyalty, helping others, and generosity and left no hatred and enmity for us. Whenever we talked to him or asked him about his political opponents, my father used to say that his opponents were his strength, which never let him be lazy and always forced him to struggle hard, so that he could face them with grace and dignity. He used to advise us that instead of wasting time defeating enemies, use the precious energy to elevate yourself, and that way you will have more positivity, less animosity, and more peace and happiness in your life.
Once, he said that only the weak think of revenge against their enemies. He always forgave those who spoke against him, those who made false accusations, those who did evil behind his back, and those who pulled his leg but rather always stood by those who asked him for help. He loved and respected people of every religion, sect and race and was a great messenger of interfaith harmony for the promotion of which he had taken many initiatives. He always spoke for the rights of minorities, of women and of every subjugated section of our society.
He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and was proud of his relatively humble beginnings. Whenever he met students from various universities of the country, he would mention his unprivileged background and always taught them to believe in their capabilities and hard work with dedication and devotion. He used to tell us about the difficulties he had faced as a student and his daily struggles as he was a self-made person. Despite all difficulties, he worked tirelessly to obtain a master’s degree in statistics from Karachi University and began his career at the same university. The same university later honoured him with an honorary PhD degree for his services to the country and as a pride for its alumni. He was a man who believed in constant struggle which led him to achieve the highest position in the politics of Pakistan, bravely overcoming all challenges. He had, in the last year of his life, started the Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR), a non-governmental body, with the aim to bring about social and economic reforms for the betterment of the common man—a legacy, which I will now carry forth.
My father’s devotion and respect for Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto were beyond comparison. Whenever we remembered the time we had spent with her in exile, tears would well up in my father’s eyes. My father stayed steadfast with his leader Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto during the long exile, and they were highly excited for their return to their beloved country.
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| With Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in London in 2004 |
However, on the day they returned, they faced a huge bomb blast near Karsaz Karachi, in which hundreds of PPP workers were martyred. Our father used to tell us about his memories associated with Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her mother Begum Nusrat Bhutto as he, then Director FIA had also investigated the murder of Shahnawaz Bhutto, a detailed account of which can be found in his book.
For my father, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was his leader, his sister and his mentor, and during her exile, he left no stone unturned in her service, assistance, and care. My father had reserved his residence in the UK for the party’s political activities where later she signed the historic Charter of Democracy (CoD) with Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
Today my father is no longer amongst us and the whole house seems empty, devoid of his energy and zest for life. A vacuum that no one could ever fill. It is strange to us but we feel we will never be alone in his memory. In his legacy, he has left with us an undying desire to serve the nation, loyalty to the country, adherence to Bhutto’s philosophy, compassion for the poor and needy, raising our voices for the oppressed and standing with the truth which we, my brother Umar and I, will carry forward. We are grateful to all those who gave us love and support during this difficult time of our lives.
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| With his sons; Ali Rehman Malik & Umar Rehman Malik |
The writer Ali Rehman Malik is a barrister living between Islamabad and London. He is the oldest son of Abdul Rehman Malik and the Chairman of the Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR). He tweets @AliRehmanMalik3 and can be reached at alirmalik963@gmail.com
Note: The article was published in The Nation on April 17 and 18, 2022. Link to the original article is : https://nation.com.pk/authorpost/columnist/ali-rehman-malik/
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