THE TOWERING MEN
1977 didn’t turn out well for Pakistan. The protest against the government expanded to most cities and smaller towns. Many rounds of talk were held between the representatives of the government and Pakistan National Alliance (PNA), and they were nearing an agreement when the military toppled the Bhutto regime on the night between July 4 and 5 and took the reins. Martial law, once again, became the nation’s fate, and ZA Bhutto was arrested on September 3, 1977. A few days later, General Zia-ul-Haq addressed the nation via state radio and television. I listened to his address alongside Prof. Ghafoor and other Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) high-ups. The general lashed out at the politicians and then announced to place a ban on all political parties. We were able to gauge what was coming, and so we emptied all bank accounts of the party. There was a lot of money in them, given the organization’s welfare activities. One joint account with Dr. Iftikhar was sealed because he was in India at the time on a private visit.
We also moved all coffin carriers from the service’s main Liaquatabad office to an acquaintance’s vacant plot in North Karachi. Then came a painter and replaced ‘Welfare Department, Jamaat-e-Islami’ with ‘Al-Khidmat Welfare Society,’ which had been established in 1976, on the offices and vehicles of the organization. This enabled us to continue with the organization’s welfare activities. The JI Ameer was chosen during the initial phase of Gen Zia’s era. In 1972, when Maulana Maududi asked to be excused from the party’s chairmanship over health concerns, Mian Tufail Muhammad was given the responsibility. He, too, was a true example of devotion to Allah and the قرونِ اولیٰ (the first among the believers in Islam). I had never seen a man more pious and ideologically dedicated to the cause of Islam. The members opted for him in the majority. I was with him when he found out about his new role, and instantly, he said, “إِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَاِنَّآ اِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ (to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return). He was overwhelmed with the feeling of the responsibility and was all in tears at the time of the oath-taking.
On August 4, 1978, Gen Zia held a meeting with PNA leaders and invited them to join the federal Cabinet. It was decided in the same meeting to hold fresh elections in the country before October 1979. A few days later, 24 people representing different parties of the alliance took oath as federal ministers. They included JI’s Prof. Ghafoor, Mahmood Azam Farooqui, and Chaudhry Rehmat Elahi. Later, Prof. Khurshid Ahmad was also made a part of the Cabinet.
It wasn’t possible for Prof. Ghafoor to manage two posts simultaneously, so in November 1977, senior leader Prof. Usman Ramz was tasked with heading the Karachi chapter. He had migrated to Karachi from erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971 and was a really good poet, too. Prof. Ghafoor led JI Karachi from February 1972 to 1977, having succeeded Hakim Sadiq Hussain following the latter’s two-year tenure.
Sad demise of Maulana Syed Abul Ala Maududi
On September 22, 1979, the state-run channel and radio broadcast the extremely saddening news of Maulana Maududi’s demise. As soon as the news was aired, thousands of his adherents began to flock to his residence in 5, Zaildar Park, Ichra, Lahore, and JI’s main office in Mansoorah. JI’s office in Karachi was also swarmed by party workers. On September 23 and 24, the grieving people in Lahore were waiting for Maulana’s coffin to be flown from New York while his relatives were busy arranging for the flight. Meanwhile, the Iranian government and Saudi Arabia’s Shah Khalid offered to arrange the flight. While Maulana’s family was considering these offers, the government of Pakistan made the same offer. After due consultation, JI’s chief Mian Tufail, other leaders, and Maulana’s family decided to thank the three governments and opted to make the air arrangements at their own expense.
On September 24, 1979, when Mian Tufail Muhammad, Maulana Jan Muhammad Abbasi , and other party leaders were at the airport, the plane carrying the coffin landed in Karachi. There was barely any space there, with more and more people joining the mourners. The workers of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and PIA employees’ union Piasi moved the coffin to an open truck where JI chief offered the funeral prayers. Hundreds of thousands wept as they recited heartwarming prayers for their beloved leader. The coffin was then put on a special PIA plane and flown to Lahore.
The local bodies’ election
The local bodies’ elections were held the same day in Karachi. The party leadership and workers, busy in the campaigning, were deeply saddened by Maulana’s demise, and so were distracted from the ongoing activities. Fortunately, the leadership was able to take hold of the situation and resume electoral activities. By the grace of Allah, our candidates won many of the constituencies. However, in some of them, they weren’t able to perform as per their aspirations because of the overwhelming grief. JI’s Akhuwat Group was able to win the majority in Karachi Municipality, and Lyari’s resident Abdul Sattar Afghani, a down-to-earth man and an ideological worker of the party, was elected the mayor. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Umar Yousuf Deda became his deputy. For the next four years, Abdul Sattar Afghani and his entire team carried out exemplary development work in the metropolis. Despite their limited resources, the trustworthy, sincere, and competent team members indiscriminately served every neighborhood of the city. Due to their efforts, every road, street, and market became clean and well-lit, and every amenity plot was safeguarded with a boundary wall to keep the land mafia away. The consistent hard work bore fruit, and the Akhuwat Group won even more constituencies in the 1983 local body elections. Abdul Sattar Afghani was reelected as the mayor. This time, too, the deputy mayor, Abdul Khaliq Allah Wala, wasn’t from the Akhuwat Group. The Karachi Water and Sewage Board was formed during the era, one of the countless projects initiated by the mayor.
General Elections – 1985
On January 10, 1985, General Zia announced to hold elections in the country on a non-party basis. PPP and some other parties decided to boycott the polls, but JI’s shura decided the opposite so as not to leave a vacuum for anyone else to fill. The Election Commission scheduled the polls for the national and provincial assemblies on February 25 and 28, respectively. After due consultation, the party decided to field Mahmood Azam Farooqui, Karachi’s ameer and a former MNA and federal minister, Syed Munawar Hassan, Muzaffar Ahmad Hashmi, Usman Ramz, Mahmood Ahmad Madni, Shafi Malik, Muhammad Aslam Khattak, Abdul Sattar Afghani, Muhammad Hussain Mehanti, and Syed Zakir Ali for the National Assembly, and Dr. Athar Qureshi, Akhlaq Ahmad, Abbas Bawazir, Aslam Mujahid, Shah Faiz-ul-Hassan, Sheikh Mehboob Ali, Junaid Farooqui, Babu Ghulam Hussain Baloch, and myself for the Sindh Assembly. I didn’t deem myself eligible for the ticket, and I spoke with Mahmood Azam Farooqui to be dropped off the list, but the nazm maintained its decision. The electioneering went really well. Our candidates and workers were in good contact with the voters, but the NA results were not as per expectations. Mahmood Azam Farooqui, Syed Munawar Hassan, and Abdul Sattar Afghani lost, with only Usman Ramz and Muzaffar Hashmi securing their wins. I contested from PS 81 and received an astounding 13,966 votes against my opponent Mazhar Shakib’s 4,912.
Dr. Athar Qureshi, Akhlaq Ahmad, Aslam Mujahid, Abbas Bawazir, and Babu Ghulam Hussain Baloch also won their respective constituencies. In Hyderabad, Abdul Waheed Qureshi bagged the provincial seat, with the later addition of minority member Bashir Alam Bhatti strengthening our parliamentary group. Syed Ghous Ali Shah became the chief minister, and Abdullah Hussain Haroon became the Speaker. Due to the non-party elections, there was no such thing as an opposition in the House. The initial sessions went by peacefully, but then we began to highlight the issues in our constituencies and the city, much to the annoyance of Ghous Ali Shah. JI’s lawmakers would come to the House fully prepared to participate in the debate. The media wasn’t as functional as today, but the news stories published in dailies such as Jang, Dawn, and Jasarat had prominence. Conversely, Ghous Ali Shah couldn’t stand criticism and didn’t want any negative impression about his government. Clearly, almost every ruler shies away from criticism and wants to hear, “all is well!” He began to tell me, “I want to make you a part of my Cabinet, and I have chosen for you the portfolio of education; get it finalized by your party.” I would stay silent on this suggestion. He didn’t know that a lawmaker of JI couldn’t be silenced with such tactics. After some time, when he realized that he couldn’t get me to do what he wanted, he started to avoid me. In fact, he began to seem ‘allergic’ to me.
The Senate elections were held on March 14, 1985. Many affluent candidates asked JI lawmakers, elected on a non-party basis, to vote for them, saying it was possible in view of the secret balloting. In return, they made them lucrative offers. Nobody dared to approach me as I was well-off, and they knew how I would react, but others were contacted. To be honest, especially in those days, I felt really proud of my association with JI, and I sent praises to Allah for the same. Literally no one, including Dr. Athar Qureshi, Akhlaq Ahmad, Abdul Waheed Qureshi, Babu Ghulam Hussain, Aslam Mujahid, Abbas Bawazir, or the minority member Bashir Alam Bhatti, could be won over, and not a single conscience could be ‘bought’.
Akhlaq Ahmad lived in a small rented house in Federal B. Area. He used to come to the Assembly via a JI contact’s Vespa scooter or by a minibus. Likewise, Bashir Alam was a labour leader and lived in a slum. Later as well, whenever he visited JI’s office, I would stand up in respect and walk him to the door when he left. Those, without a shadow of doubt, were the towering personalities amongst us!
