Fifth death anniversary of fearless journalist Abdullah Malik
ISLAMABAD (April 20 2008): Several aspects of multifaceted personality of fearless journalist Abdullah Malik (1920-2003) were reviewed at a literary conference held at the Pakistan Academy of Letters here on Saturday. Prominent intellectual Khwaja Masud, his close friend, presided over the occasion, which marked the fifth death anniversary of the deceased journalist.
A number of speakers who spoke at the conference belonged to the leftist orientation, and these included Abdullah Malik’s friends, Hameed Akhtar, human rightist activist, I. A. Rahman, poet Kishwar Naheed, and Ashfaque Saleem Mirza.
Other speakers such as son PAL chief Iftikhar Arif, Kausar Abdullah, grandson Omar Abdullah, Information Ministry official Sajida Iqbal, and former Nawai Waqt’s resident editor Tariq Warsi did not answer to any ideological label.
However, it was made quite obvious that Abdullah Malik who edited the now defunct but famous Urdu newspapers Azad at Lahore supported the Pakistan People’s Party and contributed to the success of the party in Punjab in the 1970 election.
Thus the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a great admirer of Abdullah Malik which he would show by often placing Malik’s solar hat on his head.
Despite that love and reverence differences grew between the two on the question of East Pakistan, especially after ZAB returned to Lahore after meeting Shaikh Mujibur Rahman. Abdullah Malik was critical of ZAB’s policy and it was said that he had a premonition that ZAB would make some weird declaration during the famous Lahore meeting in which it is reported that he made a declaration which has been capsuled for history in the now famous Azad newspaper headline Idhar Ham, Udhar Tum (We will rule this side, you on that side).
However, it must be stated on record, however, that, later, when ZAB made the official visit of Bangladesh in 1974, he made a correction denying that he had ever said some thing like this.
Abdullah Malik also had previous inkling of differences after ZAB became prime minister and was resentful with op-ed pieces in the newspaper. Abdullah Malik told him that he should be informed of the party’s policies, and this job was entrusted to the late Maulana Kausar Niazi. However, Abdullah Malik was loathe accepting briefing from Maulana and told this to ZAB.
As an explanation, I. A Rahman mentioned an episode in which Malik was sentenced to one year’s prison and Rs 10,000 fine for describing East Pakistan as Bangladesh during Yahya Khan’s time, before the general election of 1971. The military office sentencing him said in his written order that he had a good mind to award the punishment of lash but he took note of the old age of the accused.’
“Please. Get on with that, but please do not scandalise me in this way, Abdullah told the officer. Many speakers recalled Maliks’s credentials as a diehard Communist of the Moist kind, Kishwar added that he also went on pilgrimage of Haj, and there he wept like a child. ‘I have had a surge of Islamic spirit after coming on Haj,’ she said quoting from one of his writings.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:4/20/2008
” 
” 
” 
” 
” 
