Mairaj Muhammad Khan. PHOTO: FILE
Speakers at the reference included president Abid Hasan Minto, Ayub Nizami, Khawaja Saleem, Rashid Rahman, IA Rahman, Imtiaz Alam, Farooq Tariq, Asif Khan, Ghulam Abbas, Pervaiz Saleh and other political workers who had worked with Khan.They talked about Khan’s role in the formation of three political parties. They said he had dedicated his life to bringing together various Left-wing groups, factions and parties to resist state oppression.
“He was with us in all our struggles against dictators and was active in political work till the end,” Manto said. “Born in 1938 in British-India, he grew up in tumultuous times and witnessed countless historic moments in the region during his lifetime. He was also remembered as one of the founding members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a contributor to the initial basic programme of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the founder of Qaumi Mahaz-i-Azadi. Tariq said Khan was a committed leader and he had spent his life working for workers and peasants.
“Mairaj dedicated his life to socialism. He was a major proponent of social democracy,” he said. Pervaiz Saleh said, “He was my leader and my teacher. His personality had a huge impact on me and I always try to follow his example.”
He said Khan had sought an end to political hegemony of the elite. “He wanted to empower the masses.”
Rashid Rahman said Khan was an excellent orator. “His oratory and his charming personality attracted people to him. People enjoyed listening to him and followed him because they trusted him.”
Rahman said it was unfortunate that the vibrant culture of student politics in Pakistan had faded away.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2016.
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