Honoring our Distinguished Members
It is our privilege that we have a large number of very distinguished Ex-Servicemen as
our Members. We have started a separate Chapter in which we would like to recognize
and pay tribute to the memories of those of our distinguished members who will no
longer be with us. We had the distinction of having three members who held the
gallantry Awards of SJ & Bar. Major General Nasirullah Khan Babar SJ & Bar, HilalShujaat, was one of the three members who had the privilege of holding that
distinction. The other two prominent members, who are still alive by the grace of God,
and active in our Association, are Vice Admiral Ahmad Tasnim (Retd) SJ & Bar and Brig
Mohammad Taj Abbassy (Retd) SJ & Bar. Major General N.K.Babar breathed his last on
10th January, 2011 after having suffered a stroke on 19th August, 2008. He was
respected, admired, and remembered by all his friends, colleagues and relatives, all
alike. A special Meeting was held on 23rd February, 2011 to pay tribute to him. We were
honored that Air Marshal M. Asghar Khan (Retd) Former Chief of Pakistan Air Force,
kindly agreed to preside over the meeting. We are putting on our Website some reports
and photographs of the function held.
Reminiscences of Late Major General Nasirullah Khan Babar
Sj & Bar, Hilal-e-Shujaat
It is indeed a privilege and an honor to stand here to-day to pay tribute to
the memory of Late Major General Nasirullah Khan Babar. He was a colleague, a friend
and above all one of the most striking personalities of our living memories. We have
heard the different accounts of those who knew him intimately and shared the
experience of working with him in different period of his life. They cover the entire span
of his life, from his childhood, to his early life at PMA, his career as a gunner, his days
with the Army Aviation and in particular his pivotal role in building this key arm to its
full potential as it stands to-day. From this background we saw his career blossom into
a versatile soldier embracing many challenging assignments both in peace and war.
Equally interesting and unique is his abrupt retirement from the Army and given a
unique role in charting the future of Federally Administrated Tribal Area (FATA) and
through it, his close links with the events in the adjoining Afghanistan. They in
particular bring out his distinct vision, his knowledge of history and ground realities and
above all the dynamics of his life which was imbued with acute sense of patriotism and
working for the future of this region. Equally interesting is his entry into the body
politics of this country, though against his grain and will, but embodying an example of
self-less, devoted and committed leadership; which held and maintained the lofty
principles for which he lived all his life. His life covered a very wide canvas of
diversified activities. And he excelled them in all. I do not wish to repeat any of the
details already too well known about him; but will endeavor to throw light on some of
those aspects of his life which are not known commonly or else which have been
misunderstood.
I may start with brief reference to his early army life in which I was
closely associated with him as a cadet, gunner and the days of Air O.P and later as
Army Aviation. His hallmark was implicit faith in himself. His greatness was that mostly
he was right. On the lighter side I may mention a few jokes about him which brings out
his character. While doing the Artillery course at Nowshera and doing the Gun Drill,
remembering the positions of the different numbers of the gun detachment was not his
strong point. While Subedar Ajaib Khan would shout take post, he and Jehandad would
rush at top speed to the gun but would keep circling around the gun, and when all
others had taken their respective positions at the gun, he would leap with all the
enthusiasm and jump on to the vacant place. Obviously it had to be his position. The
instructor would smile and say,”Babar Sahib aur Jehandad Sahib, Josh to buhaat hai
magir apko abhi tak apni apni gun position nain atey.” This would not deter him and he
kept working hard and got “A”” Grade at the completion of the Artillery Course. Another
aspect of our early life at Nowshera was that one of Nasirullah’s uncles, Lt Col
Ihsanullah Babar was Commanding 13 Lancers as part of Armored Brigade located at
Risalpur. Sometimes in the evening we would cycle to Risalpur to meet him. On our first
visit as we entered the officer’s mess, we saw some of the officers gathered at the bar
and engaged in a frank, light vein and uninhibited friendly discussion. Lt Col Ihsanullah
Babar received us very enthusiastically and introduced us to the others in the group. It
is here that we also first met Lt Col Gul Hassan, who was at that time Commanding 5
Horse. Nasirullah knew him from RIMC days and immediately became intimate with
him. What really impressed us was the most congenial atmosphere that prevailed in the
officer’s mess. It was our first exposure to a lively and enjoyable unit mess life. A total
departure from our mess life at PMA, Infantry School and the Artillery School Mess, that
we had so far seen in our early army life. These were mostly rigidly formal. These visits
were so inspiring and enjoyable that we looked forward to all possible opportunities to
meet with such caliber of officers. Nasirullah certainly embodied many of their traits
and surely cultivated and nurtured many additional characteristics of his own, that
distinguished him from others. Later when we joined our units, we saw another face of
some of our senior Army Officers. They were not confident of their own professional
knowledge and capabilities, hardly had any battlefield and command experience and
had been catapulted to these higher ranks through the accident of the Partitioning of
the Indian Army. They had narrow vision, were shallow in their outlook and purpose and
had learnt the art of command through creating fear in the minds of their subordinates.
It presented a glaring contrast. Whenever, we the fresh graduates from PMA met, we all
reflected and discussed this diabolic distinction / comparison between these two
classes of officers. Obviously our young and impressionable minds were agitating to
follow the former rather than the later class. Babar was foremost and clearly in the lead
in embodying all these true soldierly qualities. Above everything else he had learnt to
lead from the front. This became his style and the distinguishing trait throughout his
army career and the rest of his life.
We joined N0 1 Air O.P. Flight R.P.A.F in our early Career. Living at the
Pakistan Air Force Officers Mess, Chaklala and inter mixing with the senior Air Force
officers was indeed a unique experience. The Officers Mess had excellent atmosphere.
The senior officers on their frequent visits from Air Headquarters, Peshawar would stay
in the mess and mix freely and intimately with all. Informal, animated, lively and
absorbing discussions would ensue. The vibrant spirit of the newly emerging Pakistan
Air Force was clearly discernible. The vision, the dedication, commitment and a totally
absorbing professional approach would create their indelible mark on all the young
impressionable minds of all of us. We truly salute those memories and we are highly
grateful that the pioneer of that group is amidst us to-day to preside on this function.
We will be failing in our duties if we were not to pay our sincere tribute to their
contribution and service in the cause of this Air Force and the country.
Nasirullah Babar undoubtedly drew many an inspirations from them and
some other notable senior Army Officers, but he added his own flavor and spirit which
could be described as only his hallmark. His dash and spirit of adventurism would be
singled out the most proverbial of them all. We would at time describe this verging on
recklessness. But he always proved us wrong. I here quote a small incident but it
speaks a lot. I was riding behind him in his newly acquired motor cycle for the games in
the domestic compound of PAF Base, Chaklala. As we approached the ground, I saw a
big hump in front of us. I thought that Bob will either bypass it or else slow down the
speed. He did neither. The motor cycle took a big leap in the air and I was catapulted
out of the seat and fell flat on the ground. Babar was firmly on the seat and merrily
riding along. Seeing my plight, he turned around to inquire if I was alright. When I
abused him as to why he did not slow down, he coolly told me that I should have braced
myself for the jump. This described it all. He would face everything in its own stride. Of
course I personally vowed not to sit behind him on his motor cycle ever again.
One can go on and on. The occasion to-day does not permit to relate all
the details. For that we all who knew him closely have decided to write a book on him.
This he should have done himself as he was truly a history in the example of his
personal life, his patriotism, his dedication and commitment to the cause and the
destiny of this Nation and Country.
I would only try to highlight some of the most outstanding achievements
and accomplishments of his life. Many of the earlier speakers have thrown enough light
on his many escapades, adventures and acts of bravery. When we heard the account of
the capture of 78 Indian Soldiers by him, we were kidding him for this otherwise an act
of stupidity on his part, but turned later into an act of unique personal bravery. But this
is the way he was! Unmindful of all dangers and the hazards, he would impulsively jump
into any crisis or peril that he would face. If a job had to be done he would not think
twice but would take the plunge. This personal example set the pattern for the Army
Aviators in the actual battlefield.
Maj Gen Abrar in his book “Men of Steel”, describes this as,” The invaluable close air
support provided in crucial moments by our gallant fighter pilots of the Air Force and
the daring pilots of Army Aviation.” The daring of Army Aviation pilots was a direct
emulation of his example.No better compliment could be paid to him. It earned Army
Aviation five awards of SJ.
Brig Babar was posted to Peshawar to Command the entire Frontier Corpse, stretching
from Chitral to Baluchistan. His assignment as I.G.F.C. just suited his style and
demeanor. He seemed to have immediately adopted himself to this most challenging
job. He showed an acute vision, foresight, knowledge of ground realities, an innate
desire to act and absolute commitment to achieve some tangible and lasting results.
He got Lt Col Shams-ur-Rehman Kallue, who had earlier served with him in East
Pakistan when he Commanded 4 Field Regiment, as his GSO-1 operations. The first
thing that he did was to gain intimate knowledge of the area and establish direct
contacts with the notables, Maliks and even the common people; to ascertain their
aspirations, needs, their priorities, hopes and desires. Having done that, he wasted no
time in briefing the Army Chief and through him the Prime Minister; that these sensitive
areas needed closer contacts, a fresh new approach and enlightened policies to start
the process of integrating them with the settled districts. Mr Bhutto saw the wisdom
and readily supported this approach. Brig Imtiaz, the MS to the PM being also an old
aviator proved an ideal bridge and link. Brig Nasirullah Khan Babar immediately
arranged a tour for the visit of the Prime Minister for a detailed visit to all the agencies
of F.A.T.A, starting from Chitral to South Waziristan. Since a lot of Aviation support was
required, he got me also directly involved in the whole programme of the visit. We
started with Baroghal Pass and went to many far flung and remote areas. The Prime
Minister was most enthusiastically met everywhere. It was the first ever visit of the
Chief Executive to all these god forsaken and inaccessible places. The most salient
part of this visit was the stay at Miranshah. It became memorable and historic for some
of the most far reaching decisions taken. In a small group of some 8-10 people, which
besides the prime Minister, included Mr Aslam Khattak, the Governor N.W.F.P, Khan
Abdul Qayum Khan, the Interior Minster, Mr Ejaz Naek, the Chief Secretary, Dr Humayun
Khan, Secretary Interior N.W.F.P, myself and a person from Foreign Office, Brig Babar
asked Mr Bhutto a direct and blunt question. Is the area of FATA part of Pakistan or not
and do we see the Durand Line as the International Boundary between Pakistan and
Afghanistan? This raised many an eyebrows. Mr Bhutto reacted immediately and asked
a counter question to Babar as to what doubt does he have. His response was simple
and straightforward. He said,” If Durand Line is the international border, then why aren’t
we sitting there?” This provoked an immediate commotion. Mr Aslam Khattak very
emphatically suggested to Mr Bhutto, not to listen to this advice. The others too offered
supportive views. The concerns were shown not to change the existing and current
policies. These had the acceptability of the people and any change may bring in
adverse reaction. Mr Bhutto quietly listened to all the views and at the end told Babar,”
You have my permission.” This encouraged him and he started to give his own analysis
and views about the Pakhtunistan movement currently de-stabilizing Pakistan. He went
on to comment that this was entirely the brainchild of the rulers of Afghanistan and
that the common man is desirous of promoting friendly and brotherly relationship with
Pakistan. He clearly stated that many a people from Afghanistan are in contact with
him. They need our support and approval. If we could do that they would be keen to
react against their own government. They wanted to get rid of the despotic Daud
Regime and promote better and lasting ties with Pakistan. His final advice was that in
order to stop this hoax of Pakhtunistan and the subversive activities being conducted
In Pakistan, we must have the ability to do the same to them. It came as bombshell.
There were loud outbursts of NO. The Governor was most emphatic. He categorically
told Mr Bhutto,” Do not listen to him. He is a mad man and will provoke an International
crisis.” All present were categorically shooting down these suggestions. Mr Bhutto kept
quiet. He offered no remarks and his visit of the Tribal Areas continued as planned. On
his return from the visit and back in his office, Mr Bhutto summoned Brig N.K.Babar to
have a meeting with him. It was a close knit meeting of The PM, COAS and the IGFC.
The plan as laid down by Brig Babar was approved and he was given a fairly free hand.
It ideally suited the genius of Babar. It was outside the umbrella of ISI. He made
contact with nearly 2,000 of these dedicated and motivated people of Afghanistan,
arranged for them to come to Pakistan, got them trained at Cherat with SSG and some
at other locations. I too had some partial hand and knowledge of these. Bob would call
me to Peshawar without disclosing any details, would get into the helicopter on my
arrival and then would give me plan for that specific mission. We went to numerous
remote, unknown and uncharted areas with no escorts and may be at times not much
prior notice to them. But every where, we were received enthusiastically and the
Maliks of the area would embrace us and would show their pleasure at seeing the first
semblance of the Government of Pakistan since the days of the Independence. Full
support for the plan of move of Frontier Corpse units to all these sensitive and far flung
areas was readily forthcoming. It equally provided some opportunities to meet with
some of elements from across Afghanistan who were in touch with Babar.
As the task of extending the writ of the Government of Pakistan to the
Durand Line and bringing in these contacts from Afghanistan was being completed,
Babar got posted to Sialkot to command an Infantry Brigade to resume his bright
military career. He was promoted as Maj Gen to take over the Command of 14 Division
at Okara. Since the task that Babar had initiated as IGFC was not taking roots, was not
finding the same support and enthusiasm in different quarters as envisaged and as
planned, Mr Bhutto took the decision to retire Babar from the Army and appoint him as
the Governor of N.W.F.P. The appointment of General Zia as COAS and Maj Gen
N.K.Babar (Retd) was announced the same day. Gen eral Zia was very keen to appoint
him as his Chief of the General Staff, but in view of the more important task and
assignment that he was being entrusted with, the Army Chief had to agree to his
retirement. General Babar too was not keen to leave his Army career but he too was
persuaded to accept this in the larger interest of the country. It was the beginning of a
new role which was both challenging and Bob was rightly suited and cut for it. While
his arrival as Governor gave big boost to the integration and development of Tribal Area
and equally the plan of operations assigned to these groups who had come from
Afghanistan and had been trained for that cause, his relationship with Mr Bhutto
received a severe set back. In a one to one meeting with Mr Bhutto, Babar gave a frank
assessment of the overall situation obtaining both in the Tribal Areas, the settled
districts of Frontier Province in special reference to the performance of the Chief
Minister and embracing the over view of his Geo-Strategic relationship with
Afghanistan. Bhutto was fully supportive of his ideas and plans for the Tribal Areas and
charting the course of events in respect of Afghanistan, but got irritated at his
reference to the Chief Minster as your Chief Minister and pointing out his failings and
weaknesses. This repeated reference as your Chief Minister annoyed Mr Bhutto; he got
upset and started to lose his cool. He bluntly told Babar,” Isn’t he your Chief Minister.”
The reply was forthright, frank and just as blunt! “You appointed him as Chief Minister, I
am looking after the Tribal Affairs only and the rest of the settled areas are no concern
of mine.” He further told him,” He is bringing your Government a bad name and I am just
giving you my frank and friendly advice.” This further raised the tempo and the tempers.
Mr Bhutto told General Babar,” You are part of my Government. Why don’t you join the
party and be a full member of the team.’ Babar’s reply was,” I have no interest in
politics. You have given an assignment as the Governor and I only accepted to fulfill
that role. “The meeting ended on a sour note and Mr Bhutto arrived back to Rawlpindi
very annoyed and upset. The very next day he sent Mr Abdul Hafeez Pirzada to meet
with Babar and to convey his displeasure, feelings and disapproval. The reply was
simple and straightforward. He said,” I was assigned the task and job as the Governor
to which I had agreed. If the PM is not happy he is too willing to leave.” He packed his
bag and left for his house in the University Town. He was persuaded to come back to
the Governor’s House and Mr Bhutto flew over to Peshawar to have a another meeting
with him. He out rightly apologized to him and expressed his full faith in him and a
promise that he respects his views of not joining the party! It settled the matters
amicably. A relationship of trust and complete harmony ensued. All the development
plans of FATA picked up momentum. General Babar regularly arranged the visits of the
Prime Minister to all the Tribal Areas, twice a year, where he was warmly and
enthusiastically met by all the elders, the Tribal Maliks and the people of the area. All
the Afghan Groups under their different leaders were equally active and carried out
their first coordinated operations in seven provinces in Afghanistan. The message
immediately got home to Sardar Daud. He rushed to Pakistan and in the meeting with
Mr Bhutto he clearly made the commitment; no more Pakhtunistan, Durand Line is the
International Border and that he was ready to sign the agreement to this effect. At this
critical juncture General Zia staged the coup. Why he did not sign the agreement is a
separate morbid chapter! On whose asking and instructions is also a mute question?
The day General Zia overthrew the Bhutto regime; Bob called me in the
evening that he is announcing his decision of his joining the Pakistan Peoples Party in a
press conference shortly. I told him that he was most stupid. When everyone, including
Mr Bhutto, was urging you to join the party, you refused and now that he is overthrown,
you want to take a plunge in the turbulent waters of politics. His reply was,” Now that
he is in trouble, it is my moral obligation to stand with him.” This speaks for itself. It
clearly reflected his great sterling character qualities. He stuck to this commitment
most faithfully, regardless of the entire price that he had to pay. All these details
reflect his character, commitment to cause, his single minded pursuit to attain his aims
and objectives; not for himself but the cause and the glory of the country.
Before Bhuttto was assassinated, he left clear instructions to Benazir
that she should trust General Babar, have faith in him and always depend on his advice.
She fully accepted and acted on this parting counsel of her father. Babar served
Benazir as an Advisor in her first term as Prime Minister. In the next elections he was
elected from his home constituency of Nowshera. He led a spirited campaign not only
for his own elections, but also of the party. This helped Pakistan People Parry emerge
as a truly National Party with grass root support in all the provinces.
No need to go into all the details. But what I would like to highlight is two
main acts and achievements associated with him directly. The law and order situation
in Karachi was fast deteriorating. Innocent people were being killed brazenly, their
bodies packed in bags and dispatched to their families. He could not close his eyes to
it and decided to act. The action that he took stirred up some political ramifications
and agitations. It was so only because of some unfounded misgivings, suspicions and
mistrust. General Babar had no personal grudge against any quarters and party. It was
not directed against any ethnic community, but was entirely centered against these
hard lined criminals. I had personally the chance to meet him at Karachi on two of his
visits to put down these absurd and wantonly criminal actions going on. He arrived in
Qasre Naz where he normal stayed. Since I happened to be in Karachi too, I went over
to see him. He was alone and was waiting for the team that he had put together to
eliminate these ruthless killings. He had the time and so he shared his mind with me.
He was carrying with him all the information collected through different intelligence
sources, both the civil and military. They had been clearly defined, identified and
surmised the entire plan of these nefarious activities. All the locations of the different
sensitive cells for planning and carrying out these activities were accurately pin
pointed. These included even the torture cells. Babar briefly explained to me that
initially he would arrive with all the details of the plan clearly spelt out. But invariably
he would find that all the details had leaked out before and the mission would be
abortive as they would find no one there. He was now keeping everything close to his
chest. Even he had not decided on the likely target yet. When all will assemble, he will
at random pick up the location to be raided that day and would personally lead them to
the place. This had worked as no one had the prior information and knowledge. His
instructions were clear. Arrest those who so opt, but if they offer resistance and take
you on then you can use force. As his nature, he would personally lead and remain in
charge till the mission was completed. In such operations there is always the
possibility of some innocent people being killed. But he had given strict orders to be
discreet and use minimum necessary force required. He was there to see to it that it
was so done. This earned him the respect of all the peace loving and law abiding
people of Karachi, regardless of their ethnic background and party affiliations. Some
misunderstood his motives but they were wrong. He was so confident of his moral
uprightness that he stood for elections from a constituency in Karachi. It is a testimony
to his faith in him that he received large votes in his favor regardless of the ethnic and
political divide. In fact he was so exuberant with confidence that he would state with
all the confidence that he would have won if the elections had not been rigged. But that
was his typical optimistic self!
One hears a lot of comments, talk and opinions expressed, that Babar is the mentor,
the author and the guiding spirit of rise to power of the Taliban’s in Afghanistan. This is
not true. General Niazi, Brig Aslam Bodla and Lt Col Shams Kallue have already shed
enough light on that. I will only briefly highlight two aspects of his association and
influence with Mulla Omar and his associate Talibans. They all respected him. It may
date back to his earlier contacts with Prof Rabbani, Gul Baden Hikmayat Yar, Ahmad
Shah Masud and all others from his days as IGFC and Governor. They admired and had
implicit faith in him. When Taliban’s gained control of Kabul, he clearly advised them
not to go beyond. They respected and abided with this. The next thing that he told them
was that a rapprochement with the Northern Alliance is in their own interest and for the
future of Afghanistan. They fully accepted and supported this idea. They encouraged
and facilitated him in this plan and idea. General Babar made several trips to Kabul.
The Taliban’s would provide their own MI-8 Helicopter and the crew to undertake
several visits for the meetings with Ahmad Shah Masud, Dostum and all the other
notable leaders of Northern Alliance. In his own way he would describe the experience
of all these visits. The starting point would be the crews dressed in their Shalwar
Kameez and flowing beards and holding some ancient maps trying to navigate to the
destinations desired. He said he could not trust them with their navigation skills and
would sit in the cockpit to oversee the flight. We would joke with him that, his
navigation was also not his forte. He would silence us by saying that regardless, he
managed to invariably reach his destination. On one of the visits he had a
representative from America also accompanied him. He had mentioned the name but I
have since forgotten. He also told me that during the discussions with Ahmad Shah
Masud, he was being negative and would not encourage further such contacts.
Regardless, he had a draft agreement prepared for loose Confederation of Afghanistan
with probably King Zahir Shah as the figure head. At a meeting held in the Presidency
on 3rd November, 1996, which was presided over by Farouk Leghari and attended by PM
Benazir Bhutto, General Babar, General Jehangir Karamat, Lt Gen Naim Rana, DG ISI
and Najam-ud-din Sheikh, the Foreign Secretary, the draft agreement so prepared was
approved. General Babar was instructed to fly to Kabul on 5th November, 1996 and get
this agreement signed by all the parties. It was on 4th November, 1996 that President
Leghari dismissed the Benazir Government. Why he did not go ahead and got the
agreement signed is another sordid chapter. Obviously it was on someone’s call and
instructions. The link is clear. Some powers were interested in not allowing stability in
this region for their own greater game plan and design.
Another, related incident is that in May 2001, General Babar got a call from an Under
Secretary of State from America who expressed his desire to meet with him during his
forthcoming visit to Pakistan. Nasirullah got the sense and called the Foreign Monister
of Taliban Government, Mr Muttwakkal, to come to Peshawar for a meeting with him.
During that meeting General Babar explained to him that obviously American
Government is upset with the Taliban’s harboring of Osama Bin Laden and advised that
they may like to look into this matter. The Foreign Minister called Mullah Omar on his
phone and briefly explained to him the purport of this meeting and gave him the brief
discussions held with General Babar. He then handed over the phone to General Babar.
He briefly gave him his concerns and advised him that Osama may not be provided
shelter in Afghanistan. His reply was very clear and candid. He said,” I am prepared to
hand him to a third neutral Country. I have only two conditions. The first is that he
should be given a fair trial and second one is that one of the Judges on the court should
be from Afghanistan.”
He also told him that Osama came to Afghanistan as the guest of Professor Rabbani
and that he never invited him there. He also raised the question as to who provided him
the C-130 Aircraft. When the Under Secretary arrived to meet with General Babar, he
was apprised of this. His reply astonished General Babar. He said, “Who will guarantee
that he will be punished.” General Babar was taken aback at this arrogance and self
righteous comments. He replied, “You have framed no charges against him so far and it
is strange that you want guarantees for his punishment.” The meeting ended at this
unfruitful note. Again a third attempt was lost to achieve stability in the region.
In conclusion, I may reflect on his disturbed association with Benazir, during her exile
and the course of her back door diplomacy with General Musharraf. Of particular
concern to him was this proposed NRO? So, Babar had deliberately not been in contact
with her and avoided all links. It was only a day before her assassination that he met
her at Peshawar. She confided in him that she wanted no part in any discussions with
General Musharraf. But if she hadn’t done that the elections would have rigged and
Democracy would remain thwarted. She clearly told General Babar,” I am totally
disillusioned with General Musharraf and I will have no part with him and have no
desire to work with him.” This satisfied Babar and his parting advice to her was not to
go to this meeting. I fear for your life! That is the last political figure and a close
associate that she met before her Assassination.
We have reflected on all his unquestionable qualities of head and heart. No one can
deny or contradict or deny these. I may sum it up with an incident which may explain it
all. I had known the country head of CIA from the times that I handed over all the
prominent Afghan Mujhadeen to him from my residence, when the Russians moved into
Afghanistan. I was planning to go on a visit to America and John Reagan came to see
me. He would meet me on and off to seek my views on the situation as developing in
the region as he knew I had General Babar’s input, for which he had respect and
admiration. He told me that while during my stay, someone will contact me and
requested that I should meet him. When the call came and the meeting was so
arranged, I was confronted with a strange question. I was bluntly told that they were
keeping a file on all high file prominent figures of Pakistan. They included all the senior
officers of the Armed Forces and other related important citizens. I was told that they
had a file on one of my close friends, General N. K. Babar, and while reviewing this file
they noted that it had all his strong points and showed no weaknesses in his character
and personality. I was asked to show some light on his shortcomings. This immediately
upset me. In a sharp reaction I strongly told them it is rather strange that on one hand
they describe him as my close friend and at the same time have the audacity of asking
me to reflect on his weaknesses. I bluntly told them,” That since you have raise this
most inappropriate question. My forthright and blunt answer is that he has none.” The
meeting abruptly ended and I walked away in some disgust. They lost this channel for
some expert advice and assessment, but it speaks volumes for the character of the
person that we meet here to-day to remember and honor.
Surely, General Nasirullah Babar was a person who had immense qualities of head and
heart. Above all he had a vision; which was pragmatic rather any utopian or product of
any fanciful mind. He had a deep insight of the history of this area, its culture, the
customs and the mindset of the people. His intimate and close contacts with all the
tribes made him an invaluable asset and he could suitably guide or direct their
destination. It was the stability in the region, which was his foremost objective and
aim. Paul Kennedy described this region as the fulcrum, to which Pakistan is the pivot.
Nasirullah perfectly understood this and he gave this concept a practical and down to
earth extension. It is for us to now understand and implement his thoughts, approach
and the implied direction that he gave and acted on. We equally need his dedicated will
and action. Foremost, he always showed the courage to speak the truth. This is what
the “Koran” enjoins on us and we need to imbibe and act on.
May Allah give his departed soul a safe and permanent heavenly abode and us the
courage to emulate his example, in letter and spirit, as displayed by him.