Former diplomat and ambassador Karamatullah Ghauri’s interesting incident mentioned in the book “Barshnasai” was made part of my blog earlier, in which the memories of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s visit to Kuwait were narrated. Maulana’s imitators will obviously be unhappy after reading this, but it happens again. Whenever a memoir is written openly, some people must be angry. He was then accompanied by Pakistani President Farooq Leghari. Karamat Ghauri writes that although as the Pakistani ambassador, it was his responsibility to take care of the entire delegation of President Leghari, but where they had to stay under the protocol, it was the job of the host Kuwaiti government, anyway they are all experienced and were busy at work.
Arrangements were made for Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan at the official guest house, Qasr-e-Bayan, but within ten minutes of his arrival, Nawabzada rebuked Karamat Ghauri and other embassy officials for not making better arrangements for him. According to Karamat Ghauri, however, the Kuwaiti protocolists housed Nawabzada on a par with the ministers, while his position was that of an adviser. Elders are respected in Kuwaiti society, the advantage given to Nawabzada.
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was not happy about this either, he objected that since President Leghari considers him a member of his family, his residence should have been on the same floor of the Qasr Hospitality where the President and his family were sstaying. The Pakistani ambassador replied that the briefing he received from the Foreign Ministry did not say that Nawabzada was from President Leghari’s family. That is why the protocol people gave him the place they deserved. Nawabzada was amused to hear this.
Karamat Ghauri expressed his impression that he saw Nawabzada Nasrullah in Kuwait during his stay and that he had a feudal spirit. When he would talk to President Farooq Leghari, his lips and accent would be sweet, but when talking to the ambassador or other employees of the embassy, he would repeat the rhetoric that is part of the feudal rhetoric.
Karamatullah Ghauri shared another incident regarding Nawabzada Nasrullah, this is after this trip to Kuwait. In the early summer of 1995, Karamat Ghauri arrived in Jeddah from Kuwait with his family for the Hajj. This year, two days before the Hajj, a fire broke out in the tents of pilgrims in Mina, burning many tents. The fire broke out in the area where the pilgrims of the Pakistan Consulate were supposed to stay. The problem was that many tents burned down, leaving only a small number of tents. Karamat Ghauri was sitting with the Consul General in Jeddah when Nawabzada Nasrullah’s phone rang.
Nawabzada was a member of the official Hajj delegation from Pakistan. Ihram for all members of the delegation was also provided at the expense of the government.
Nawabzada was informed that the tents had caught fire, but his phone call was not because he was expressing sympathy to the Consul General for his new and heavy responsibility, but for arranging a tent with air conditioning so that they do not feel hot. Consul General and Karamat Ghauri started patting their foreheads. They were sorry that Nawabzada Sahib is one of those leaders who are considered as Jaghadri and about whom it is spread that their hearts are full of love of the people.
Karamatullah Ghauri elaborated on the visit of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto during her stay in Algeria. Bibi was warmly welcomed in Algeria, as the Algerian rulers had close ties with Bhutto. In Algeria, French was spoken or French-speaking Arabic, while none of the members of the delegation, except for Foreign Minister Sahibzada Yaqub Ali Khan, knew both languages, so the diplomatic staff was in a hurry. The ambassador also voluntarily invited a Pakistani professor to teach in an Algerian city.
According to Karamat Ghauri, neither Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto nor Asif Ali Zardari made any extraordinary order. Mr. Zardari had become completely selfless in a suite with a friend of his. He had just made an order that if he was provided home-cooked food, it would be a great gift, while if there were some cassettes of Indian films. If it is sent, it will be accompanied by gold. These two orders were easy to fulfill, so no problem. The real test for the Pakistani ambassador and diplomatic staff became the rest.
The attitude and behavior of Naheed Khan, who was part of the PM’s personal staff, was a clear declaration of the absence of civility towards everyone. She forgave the ambassador but treated the Pakistani professor very badly. During these three days, Karamatullah Ghauri realized that Zardari was not happy with Naheed Khan’s aggressive behavior. There was nothing to be happy about because Naheed Khan seemed to be looking for a wall between Benazir Bhutto and the rest of the world. And this kind of attitude could hardly be accepted by the people. After the tragic death of Benazir Bhutto, Zardari separated Naheed Khan from the affairs of the party as if a fly had been taken out of milk and thrown away. Some people were surprised, some objected, Karamat Ghauri refreshed the memories of the days of Algeria in his mind, then he understood the reason.
As Pakistan’s ambassador, he was troubled when the delegation wanted to shorten the three-day trip to Algeria to two days so that they could spend the third day in Genoa, Switzerland, sightseeing and shopping. The Algerian government had scheduled several events for the third day, so it was not possible. The ambassador was compelled to tell this to Sahibzada Yaqub Ali Khan and he told the Prime Minister to leave the visit as scheduled, but many in the delegation were angry.
Benazir Bhutto’s visit was a success, but Karamat Ghauri realized that her decision-making and sound judgment in the selection of ministers and advisers did not go as well as expected. The people who were encircling Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto were vultures that rush to the place where they can expect to be eaten. Most of them seemed to be slaves to lust and purpose. The victims of these lusts had no sympathy for the PPP or Benazir Bhutto.
Ironically, a few days after her visit to Algeria, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and a week later, Benazir Bhutto’s government was ousted. The Algerian government was upset and asked the Pakistani ambassador if the visit to Algeria had a hand in the fall of Benazir Bhutto. Then Karamatullah Ghauri convinced her that it was not her fault but the ups and downs of Pakistan’s Byzantine politics. Karamat Ghauri wrote a tragic sentence in this regard. “In our political culture, palace conspiracies overthrew Benazir Bhutto’s elected government and strangled Pakistan’s fledgling democracy before it regained consciousness or rejuvenated, like the Arab society of the days of ignorance. Newborns were buried alive. Shater, who played on the Pakistani chessboard, was once again able to defeat democracy.
