In August, 1947, there was a strong, nationalist spirit among Pakistanis at the time of the founding of the state. The Quaid-e-Azam's vision of Pakistan, and recent research has reaffirmed this, was of a country that would be democratic, liberal and governed by the rule of law. It was to be a country in which the rights of the minorities would be fully protected and where enlightened Islamic principles would be followed.
To achieve these ideals, and to develop rapidly what was primarily a backward agrarian economy, the Founder of Pakistan knew that he would be relying on a limited number of able professionals and public servants. M. A. Zuberi, who passed away last December, was one of these professionals who dedicated their lives to working for the advancement and prosperity of the new nation.
Jinnah's commitment to these high ideals was expressed in his letter, of 4th August 1947, to the Nawab of Amb. " I endorse your sentiments," he wrote, "that we will endeavour to make Pakistan a State that will attain its full glory as the premium Muslim State." Well-wishers of the new nation state were, however, fully cognisant of the paucity of professional manpower available to Jinnah. Beverly Nichols had in his 'Verdict on India' described the Muslim League leader as "the most important man in Asia." This had drawn criticism from the press in the U.K., the U.S.A and from the Indian Congress. Writing on the eve of Partition to the Quaid-e-Azam's private secretary, he underlined the danger of brain-drain from the young Pakistan. He predicted in his newspaper article "that ruthless pressure will be brought to bear on promising young Muslims to desert their homeland." He went on to state that it would be "vital that the younger generation should resist these temptations. Pakistan, for many years to come, will have need of every good brain and every good body." Writing on 4th August from Simla, Mrs K.L. Rallia Ram echoed the same sentiments in a personal letter to Jinnah. "Unfortunately," she wrote of the Muslim League leadership in the Punjab, "you have very few.... men who can handle the new situation with skill, honesty of purpose, and with a disinterested desire to serve the nation loyally as they should." M.A. Zuberi was, perhaps, one of the last of the few surviving professionals - from a very limited talent pool - who had decided to dedicate themselves to the development of Pakistan.
Zuberi Sahib's status as one of Pakistan's eminent journalists is well established. It is, however, difficult today to quite appreciate the foresight and vision he displayed in giving up a highly successful career in conventional English journalism for what must have appeared to be a somewhat quixotic attempt to launch an equivalent of the "Financial Times' in Pakistan. We must recall that this was at a time when there were no business channels on T.V. anywhere in the world and when Pakistani newspapers briefly reported stock market and foreign exchange developments in an obscure column on the inside page of their journals.
Zuberi's Sahib's success in establishing the 'Business Recorder' as a mainstream paper in Pakistan was no accident. It was a tribute to his dedication to a cause he believed in and it was a result of both his professionalism and hard work. He analysed very astutely who his audience would be. Public servants, lawyers, tax advisors, business and trading houses all became his regular clientele. With time he established a regular following also among lay readers who took an interest in business developments in Pakistan. He took great care to follow government's decisions on tax, banking and financial issues. In order to ensure that you had not missed out on government's latest SRO, and the Pakistan govt has always had a penchant for issuing these, the 'Business Recorder' was a must. As time went on and as the markets developed in Pakistan, the quantum of newsworthy activities for the 'Recorder' continued to expand. By the time of Zuberi Sahib's death he would have been appropriately pleased with how his little duckling had eventually turned into a swan.
I had heard of Zuberi Sahibs and, ofcourse, I had been a more than casual reader of the 'Business Recorder.' But it was late in 1991 that I was introduced to him. This was in the Business Lounge of the old Karachi airport. As additional Secretary for external finance in the Finance Division, I was the junior member in a delegation consisting of Sartaj Aziz, A.G.N. Kazi, Saeed Qureshi, Rafiq Akhund and Qazi Alimullah. We were headed for the Annual Meetings of the World Bank & IMF. Mr & Mrs Zuberi were also on their way to the Meetings and I was asked by the minister to keep in close touch with Zuberi Sahib, who was covering the Meetings on behalf of his newspaper.
What started in 1991 as an official relationship was to develop, in subsequent years, into a friendship which lasted till Zuberi Sahib's death. There was a difference in years between us but Zuberi Shib always treated me affectionately as an equal. He had a gentle mien which, with his debonair looks and height, made his a striking personality. Throughout the nineties we used to add Zuberi Sahib's name as a member of the Pakistan delegation to the Annual Meetings. He appreciated this and was a regular presence on the delegation's seats at the plenary sessions.
There was an amusing incident once at the meetings in Bangkok. Sartaj Aziz's statement, as the finance minister, was scheduled as the last one before the session was to break for lunch on the second day at 1 pm I had accompanied the minister to a bilateral meeting with the German KFW delegation at 12 noon in one of the meeting rooms in the main building. This was a good six minutes walk, with several escalators involved, from the hall where the plenary session was being held. Sartaj Sahib asked me to go to the hall at 12.30 pm so that I could confirm that he would be available for his statement due to commence at 12.45. When I reached our delegation's seats, I found Zuberi Sahib & Saeed Qureshi manning the desk. As soon as I got in, the assistant secretary to the session came to ask us whether the minister was ready to walk to the podium at 12.40. I said that he would be. Accordingly, at 12.40 the lady came to escort Sartaj Aziz to the podium but he was missing. Anxiety on all our faces was manifest, with Zuberi Sahib looking particularly concerned. In the meantime, the secretary formally announced from the podium that the minister for Pakistan would now be requested to make his statement. So while we were discussing whether Saeed Qureshi or Zuberi Sahib should impersonate the minister, there was a bolt of lightening outside the hall as a thunderstorm struck Bangkok. For about a minute, the attention of the entire hall turned to hear the loud sounds of thunder from outside the building. In the meantime, the secretary's assistant was telling the secretary that the minister was not available. At this point of time, the secretary looked towards the entrance door of the hall. And as if on cue, Sartaj Aziz walked into the hall and upto the podium. Cool as a cucumber and totally unruffled, he took the speech out of his pocket and read out his statement over the next fifteen minutes. We all smiled with relief. But I did remind Zuberi Sahib that he had already sent his detailed dispatch to the 'Business Recorder' in Karachi, giving details of what the minister had said in his Annual Statement, before in fact the statement was made.
For the Annual Meetings in Madrid, Zuberi Sahib arrived at the airport - which was a long distance from the city - and there was some confusion about his transportation and hotel bookings. By coincidence my wife, Nighat, had reached the airport at the same time. They met by accident as they struggled in Spanish to explain where they were going. In the end, the embassy personnel identified them and brought them safely to the delegation's hotel. Zuberi Sahib always described Nighat, with reference to that meeting at Madrid airport, as an "angel of mercy."
Over the years, and during the course of all those Annual Meetings in the nineties, I had the occasion to have several desultory discussions with Zuberi Sahib. I found him increasingly disillusioned with the conduct of economic policies by successive governments in Islamabad. He felt that we had departed from the early vision of Pakistan as enunciated by Quaid-e-Azam in 1947. He continued, however, to live with the hope that - sooner or later - some sense of sanity would restore the country to the path that had been identified by its Founder. He remained a true Pakistani to the end and continued to hope for a bright future for Pakistan and its economy. He will be missed by all those who knew him and worked with him.