Apropos letter of February 11, 2004 of former Ambassador, plenipotentiary, Syed Irtiza Hussain, censoring me for distortion in my article of late Abdul Hussain.
Glaring, shortcoming, of his write-up, Field Marshal Ayub Khan was President of Pakistan, not General Yahya Khan, when Abdul Hussain was executed in early morning hour of Monday, January 27, 1969, on the scaffold of Basra Central Jail. Ayub Khan was very much in the driver's seat and S.M. Yousuf, Foreign Secretary, Ayub's trusted, right hand in the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Knowing the characteristic of the all encompassing, workaholic, scrupulous honest, S.M. Yousuf, not a leaf, or a pin could move in the Foreign Office, without a nod from the Foreign Secretary.
Incident of S.M. Yousuf's profound involvement with Abdul Hussain Gokul is borne from the papers of ICS colleague my uncle, Abbas Khaleeli and from Zahid Bashir, son-in-law of Mian Mohammed Abdullah, Vice-Consul of Pakistan in Basra.
Mian Abdullah was at the Basra water front when Abdul Hussain's body was brought in an open truck and unceremoniously hoisted with a fork lift, for display, from the lamp post.
Mian Abdullah was positioned in his Embassy car. He made repeated pleas, several attempts, cajoled to retrieve the mortal remains of Abdul Hussain Gokul from the wicked Baath Party Members and Iraqi Jail Authorities on Monday, January 27, 1999.
Zahid Bashir recalls, his father-in-law, Honourable Mian Abdullah, was given short-shrift, even threatened with dire consequences by the Baath leaders of Basra at the venue, despite his established, known diplomatic immunity.
He only succeeded in his purpose in the afternoon when the Interior Minister, Saddam Hussain, gave clearance from Baghdad on phone.
S.M. Yousuf provided a vivid description to me about the most unfortunate event of January 27, 1969, two and half years thereafter, on October 26, 1972, at the last rites of late, Akber Bhimji, that has been printed in my Book "Legacy of Princess Sherbanoo."
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