Legends remembered: Shamimur Rahman and Shamsherul Haideri remembered at condolence meeting

Rahman’s keen insight and knowledge intimidated politicians, says the finance minister.

KARACHI: Shamimur Rahman wasn’t just an ordinary journalist – he was an entire institution on his own and was so well-informed that sometimes politicians would dread answering his calls, recalled Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

At a condolence meeting organised at the Karachi Press Club on Monday, Shah was one of the speakers who dwelt on their acquaintance with Rahman. “He was well-informed about several issues, sometimes even more than politicians. He tried hard to bring the truth to the public.”

Marri, who wept as she remembered Rahman, said that he was a fatherly figure. He raised important issues during Pervez Musharraf’s tenure and always stood by his beliefs.

“More than 200 journalists from Karachi were detained and five of them were taken to an unidentified location during the emergency imposed by Musharraf in 2007. Rahman said that he and his colleagues would not rest until all the journalists were set free,” she said.

AH Khanzada, the former secretary of the press club, and its current secretary, Moosa Kaleem, were among the detained journalists. They said it was because of Rahman that they were released so quickly. Maqsood Yousafzai, a senior journalist said, “When Benazir Bhutto got to know about the arrests, she immediately demanded the government release the journalists.”

Dr Merajul Huda of the Jamaat-e-Islami said that Rahman guided him when he undertook humanitarian work after the earthquake in 2005. “I was surprised how well-versed he was in that particular issue as well,” said Huda.

The late journalist Shamsherul Haideri was also remembered at the meeting. “Haideri fought for Sindh’s rights. He guided the people of Sindh on how they could fight for their rights. He was a brave man and used his pen brilliantly,” said Khanzada. Saleem Haideri, his son, and Shamimur Rahman’s daughter Sana also shared memories about their fathers.

The press club’s president, Taher Hasan, Aamir Latif, Imtiaz Faran, Iqbal Dars, Nazir Khan and other senior journalists also spoke.