In Memory of my dear Friend

Sab kahan kuch lala-o-gul mein namayan ho gaieen
Khak mein kia soorteen hoon gee keh pinhaan ho gaieeen


Almost a week after the suspension of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJ), I felt concerned about Hamad’s safety so immediately I punched in an email inquiring about how was he doing? As always he was prompt in responding and soon I received his email response explaining his views about the suspension of the CJ. He also advised me not to worry and to take good care of myself, very typical of Hamad. I am quoting the text of his email verbatim, I did not even fixed the typos in his email, the only parts I yanked out are the parts where he updated me about his new contact numbers:


Hello Jerry,

Yes I do read you. well these have been quite tumultous times in our "proud" history. some more laurels on account of good governance. had my share of some tense moments, but hopefully i have managed to come out unscathed. how about you and your family. all well? ...

Anyways there is nothing to worry about anymore. convey my regards to the pack out there. My contact numbers have changed and I am listing those below. you take very good care of yourself and be happy.

Hamad



Since our days together at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad he would always call me ‘Jerry’. I was glad to read that he did manage to escape unscathed from the whole CJ saga - How wrong I was? May Almighty shower the unlimited reserves of His blessings upon my innocent friend’s (Hamad) soul.

In the circle of our friends at QAU he was the only one cut out to be a bureaucrat; the way he conducted himself, the way he addressed people, his demeanor, his conflict resolution style, and intellect level all indicated that he was born to be a DMG officer. He was a fine student, very mild mannered man, but a fierce competitor during our night-long never ending card championships. He was very well read and had a very fine taste for Urdu poetry.

He was still at civil services academy Lahore when I became an economic refugee and took a job in USA, we have always been in contact since then. In 2004 I visited Pakistan, then he was posted in Quetta. Shaboo (a QAU common friend) and I went to meet him there and had great opportunity of enjoying Hamad’s hospitality and meeting his wife the first time. On that trip I enjoyed some of the best Sajies and barbecues along with him.

Last year when I went to Pakistan, he came to meet me in Lahore, during one of the dinners he revealed that there were good chances that he might get posted to Islamabad as the additional registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He was very excited about the prospect of coming back to Islamabad – a city he loved very much.

It is a cliché to toot the horn of honesty after the death of a bureaucrat, but the fact that he would often get money from his parents even being a DMG officer underscores how honest and clean he was. A real gentleman, a great friend, an
awesome son, a great husband and a very involved father.

In the end I just want to say this to the killers of my frined; you did not just kill a man sleeping with his three innocent children or a son hosting his parents, rather you killed a giant banyan tree that was providing shade to many and would have provided shade to the countless needy people of the country. You demolished a symbol of honesty and commitment. It does not matter whether you killed him as a part of robbery or you were part of a bigger design to assassinate Hamad; only thing that really matters is that his parents lost their “only” son, his three childern would hardly have any memory of their father, his wife lost her loving husband and like me tens of Hamad’s friends lost their best friend. But remember that the Yazids and Shimars of the history have never escaped God’s judgment. Don’t assume that you will.

Jarrar Jaffari
(Hamad’s Jerry)
Denver, Colorado, USA