Kulsoom Nawaz was tuned to the finer sensibilities of life

Begum Kulsoom Nawaz. (AFP)
Updated 14 September 2018
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Kulsoom Nawaz was tuned to the finer sensibilities of life

  • A student of Urdu literature, she was an ardent supporter of Bhutto too
  • Dedicated to her husband, she once stood up against Musharraf to fight for his release

LAHORE: As the nation continues to mourn for its beloved Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, who will be buried in Lahore on Friday, many who knew Pakistan’s “iron lady” describe her a tender-hearted individual with great appreciation for the finer sensibilities of life. 

Born in 1950 to a middle-class Kashmiri family in Lahore, Kulsoom’s father was a doctor who ran his own clinic in Misri Shah. Kulsoom, on the other hand, acquired a postgraduate degree in Urdu Literature from the University Oriental College. A lover of art and literature, she indulged in left-leaning activism during her student life and was known to be extremely articulate in conducting herself from an early age. A thesis titled “Study of Cultural Awareness in Rajab Ali Baig Saroor’s era” went on to become a book and was later published by Sang-e-Meel, in 1985.

“Kulsoom Rehana Hafeez [her maiden name] always espoused left-wing politics. She was an ardent admirer of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and participated in political activities that supported his [Bhutto’s] movement,” Khawaja Muhammad Zakaria, former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Literature, University of the Punjab, who was also Kulsoom’s teacher, told Arab News on Thursday. 

All that changed after her marriage to Nawaz Sharif on April 2, 1971 when she was thrown into the deep end of politics, with Nawaz holding office as prime minister for three terms. 

And while she did not participate in any political activity, Kulsoom spearheaded the movement for the restoration of democracy in the country and fought for the release of her incarcerated husband after he was overthrown in a military coup, led by former president General Pervez Musharraf, in October 1999. In  July 2000, placed under house arrest, she defied the regime’s order and left her Model Town residence to lead a protest rally against the incumbent government.

This was also the time when differences between Sheikh Rashid, federal minister for railways, and the Sharif family began to emerge, following comments made by Rashid where he had said that “we will not allow any woman in Pakistan to become Rabri Devi”. Devi is an Indian politician from Bihar who served three terms as chief minister of her province after her husband, Lalu Prasad Yadav, resigned in the wake of corruption charges. 

Salman Ghani, a senior journalist and a confidante of the Sharif family, told Arab News that Kulsoom was hurt by those words and “broke into tears in front of her husband who was confined in the Attock Fort”. 

A major change came in her life when she was made party president in 1999 and held office until 2002. “This was not her choice since she never wanted to actively participate in politics,” Ambreen Adeel, a close family friend, said. Instead, Kulsoom preferred to “lead a domestic life and take care of her husband and children”. 

With Nawaz imprisoned for corruption charges, Kulsoom contested the National Assembly seat from Lahore this year and won, but could not take the oath of office due to her fragile health. 

Life dealt a blow in August last year when Kulsoom was diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma. She began treatment at London’s Harley Street Clinic, undergoing multiple surgeries and at least five chemotherapy sessions during the time. She was finally placed on life-support from July this year.

She died at the age of 68, in London, on Tuesday.

Reflecting on how ambitious she was to pursue a PhD degree, Fakharul Haq Noori, Principal of University Oriental College and a family friend, said: “She submitted a synopsis titled ‘Reflection of Nature in Urdu Poetry’ in 1992, though she could not pursue her passion”.

Noori added that Kulsoom chose her family over her future education – something which had become “difficult as she was now married to the country’s prime minister”.

Or “Bao Gee” – the term she used to refer to Nawaz throughout the duration of their married life. It all began when Kulsoom’s elder brother, Latif Hafeez, decided to get married to Nawaz’s distant relative. It was there that the future power couple saw each other and eventually decided to get married. 

Former Punjab Governor, Mian Azhar, recalls an interesting observation he had made about Kulsoom. When someone told him that she was spearheading the campaign for her husband’s release from prison, he said: “She is a brave lady. As someone born into a family of pehalwans (wrestlers), she has to be brave” – a veiled reference to the fact that Kulsoom was the granddaughter of legendary wrestler Rustam-i-Zaman Gama Pehalwan.

And while observers said she will be remembered for her feistiness and her warmth, it was her positivity that left a lasting impression on anyone she met. “I interviewed her for my magazine on telephone. Later, we met at Alhamra Hall where she had come to attend a seminar on education. When I told her my name, she recognized me immediately and met so warmly that it seemed we had been friends for life,” Ambreen Fatima, a feature writer at the Nawa-e-Waqt magazine, said.


Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US, says Islamabad’s envoy to Washington

Updated 5 sec ago
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Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US, says Islamabad’s envoy to Washington

  • Relations between the US and China have been strained over the past several years as both world powers seek to increase their global influence
  • The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan can help bridge differences between the United States (US) and China, Islamabad’s envoy to Washington said on Thursday, amid the South Asian country’s efforts to strike a balance in its ties with the two world powers.
Relations between the US and China have been strained over the past several years as both world powers seek to increase their global influence in several domains. The two nations have often had disagreements over trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistan maintains a delicate balance in its relations with China and the US. While aligned with the US for military cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts, Islamabad has strengthened economic ties with Beijing through initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In a talk delivered at the University of California, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Rizwan Saeed Sheikh underscored the strength of Pakistan-US relations and highlighted the role of the Pakistani-American community in fostering mutual growth, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Pakistan has the potential to serve as a bridge between China and the United States,” Sheikh was quoted as saying at the event.
The statement came hours after the Pakistani Foreign Office said its relations with key longtime ally China would remain “unaffected” by Donald Trump winning the US presidential election
“Pakistan’s relations with China are all-weather,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a weekly press briefing when asked if Trump’s victory will affect the country’s China policy.
“They are strategic and a source of stability in our foreign policy.”
Baloch said Islamabad does not even need to consider the possibility that its relationship with China will be affected by any domestic development in another country.
The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both world powers while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis.
“Our relations with the United States are decades old, and we look forward to further strengthen and broaden Pakistan-US relationship in all fields,” Baloch said.
“As the Deputy Prime Minister said in a tweet yesterday, we look forward to fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.”
Pakistan and the US cultivated strong defense ties during the Cold War days yet their relationship was also tested by divergent priorities on various issues.
In recent years, Washington and Islamabad’s ties deteriorated as the former suspected the latter of supporting the Taliban in their 2021 takeover of Kabul, allegations which Islamabad rejected. Tensions rose further in 2022 when former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the Biden administration of orchestrating his ouster via a parliamentary vote, a charge the US denied.
Pakistan, under PM Shehbaz Sharif’s two separate stints as prime minister in 2022 and 2024, has actively sought to improve its relations with the US.


Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism

Updated 10 min 30 sec ago
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Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism

  • Draft law proposes imprisonment and fines for individuals involved in preaching and displaying symbols of Zionism
  • Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Interior has this week approved a bill proposing a three-year jail term and fines for individuals involved in propagating Zionism or displaying the movement’s symbols.
Zionism emerged in the late 19th century as an ethnic and religious movement but later converted into a political movement for the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel through the colonization of land outside Europe, which is Palestine. 
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
The anti-Zionism bill approved by the Senate committee on Thursday was introduced in the upper house of parliament by Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, a lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. He has tabled the bill as a private member, which means its approval does not signify government policy. This bill will become law only if it is passed by both houses of parliament, Senate and National Assembly, with majority vote.
“Whoever knowingly or intentionally is engaged in the preaching of Zionism to incite and provoke hatred in society shall be punished with three years imprisonment, or with forty thousand rupees ($145) fine or with both,” says the draft law.
“Whoever knowingly or intentionally display symbol of Zionism to spread hatred and cause a disturbance in public peace shall be punished with two years imprisonment, or with thirty thousand rupees ($108) fine, or with both.”
Being a Muslim state, the bill says, Pakistan “should never allow display of symbols depicting Zionism for spreading unrest in Pakistan.”


Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore

Updated 57 min 28 sec ago
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Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore

  • Record air pollution has triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures, stay-at-home orders in Lahore
  • On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir

ISLAMABAD: A three-year-old girl in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore has sued the government of the Punjab province as record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures and stay-at-home orders in the city, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.
On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.
Research shows children exposed to high levels of smog may suffer from reduced lung capacity, pneumonia, bronchitis and other lung infections and more asthma attacks and worse symptoms than adults. 
“Under Article 9-A of the Constitution, the government is obligated to provide citizens with a clean and healthy environment,” said the petition filed by three-year-old Amal Sekhera, who appeared in court with her mother Mehek Zafar on Thursday. 
Sekhera said she was seeking justice for herself, her friends and the future generations as children and the elderly were the most badly hit by air pollution and smog. She also criticized the Punjab government for failing to protect fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan.
The Lahore High Court issued notices in response to the petition to the Punjab government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the City Traffic Police. The hearing has been adjourned till Nov. 12, with the court instructing the government to ensure the presence of the provincial secretary of the Environment Protection Department and the director general of the EPA in court at the next hearing. 
Authorities earlier this week shut down schools in Lahore and said 50 percent of government employees in the city were told to work from home until next week. On Wednesday schools in 18 surrounding districts were also shut. Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in the Punjab province, has urged residents to voluntarily wear face masks and avoid unnecessary travel, and said that “otherwise, the government will be forced into a complete lockdown.” 
Authorities in the city have already banned barbecuing food without filters, as well as the use of motorized rickshaws, and wedding halls must close by 10pm. The government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution, which has been sending patients to hospitals and private clinics complaining of coughs and burning eyes.
“Tens of thousands of patients suffering from respiratory diseases were treated at hospitals and clinics in a week,” Salman Kazmi, vice president of the Pakistan Medical Association, told media on Thursday.


Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

Updated 08 November 2024
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Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

  • Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title for 3rd time
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif promises to set up world-class facilities for sportsmen

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif for winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in Qatar for the third time, Pakistani state-run media reported on Thursday.
Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title in a thrilling final on Nov. 6. He outclassed Ali 5-3: 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118 and 93(80)-4.
“Asif made the entire nation proud by winning the international championship for the third time,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The talented youth of Pakistan are highlighting the country’s name in the fields of sports.”
The IBSF, founded in 1971, is the governing body for billiards and snooker worldwide. It represents 85 member countries and is recognized by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports and the International Olympic Committee.
Asif, 42, first won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2012 and went on to win it again in 2019. His victory ties him with India’s Pankaj Advani who has also won the World Snooker Championship thrice.
The Pakistan prime minister said Asif’s family and coach also deserved recognition, adding that providing quality facilities to Pakistani players was top priority of his government.
“The government is making all possible efforts to provide international standard facilities to the players,” he added.
 


China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC

Updated 08 November 2024
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China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC

  • The discussions included sections of Main Line-1 railway project, Karakoram Highway as well as Gwadar port and economic zone
  • Beijing has invested over $65 billion in energy, infrastructure and other projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan on Thursday discussed advancement of key infrastructure and economic projects under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Pakistani government said, with the two sides also discussing security of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.
CPEC, a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, aims to connect China to the Arabian Sea through a network of roads, railways, pipelines and ports in Pakistan and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.
The discussions on key CPEC projects were held during Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong’s meeting with Pakistani Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, according to Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID).
On the occasion, the Pakistani planning minister emphasized the need for concrete mechanisms to ensure smooth and effective implementation of bilateral projects.
“Both sides deliberated on advancing key projects, including the Karachi-Hyderabad section of Main Line-1 (ML-1) and Karakoram Highway (Thakot-Raikot Section) project, and agreed to accelerate the projects’ timely execution,” the PID said in a statement.
“Regarding the Gwadar Port and Free Zone, both sides expressed a mutual commitment to ensuring the continued development of Gwadar in a holistic manner.”
The meeting came two days after a security guard at a factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi shot and injured two Chinese nationals before fleeing, police said.
Last month, two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing near the international airport in Karachi. In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi. A blast on a bus killed 13 people in north Pakistan in 2021, including nine Chinese nationals.
China, breaking with tradition, publicly spoken out against security threats to its workers and nationals living in Pakistan, where hundreds of them work on Beijing-funded projects linked to CPEC.
Iqbal assured the Chinese ambassador the safety of Chinese citizens was a top priority of his government.
“Pakistan will continue working closely with China to ensure the security of Chinese citizens, projects, and institutions,” he was quoted as saying by the PID.
Ambassador Jiang expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s comprehensive engagement and said the Chinese side was ready for collaboration in areas of agriculture, mines and minerals, industrial cooperation, according to the PID.
Iqbal shared that his ministry was in coordination with the National Development and Reform Commission of China to arrange high-level workshops to bring together experts from both sides to outline the future direction of CPEC’s second phase.
China has lately shown willingness for the second phase of CPEC and has given assurances for the establishment of five new corridors, including that of growth, livelihood, innovation, green economy and open regional inclusive development.