O Captain! My Captain!

Dawn’s former Editor Ahmad Ali Khan Sahib is dead.
It was a privilege to serve under him. I cherished every moment of my association with my inspirational Editor.
He was truly a very special person - a perfect gentleman who respected his subordinates and made their day with affection and winsome smile. Every week as we – Ayesha, Amna, Misbah, and myself – made our pilgrimage to his room to seek approval of the Magazine pages, Khan Sahib’s endearing behavior seemed to testify “a thing of beauty is joy forever.”
Before joining Dawn I had the good fortune to work under three distinguished Pakistanis: Dr I.H. Usmani who put Pakistan on the nuclear map, Nobel Laureate Professor Abdus Salam who won glory and honor for the country, and Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan who made a significant contribution to the national program. Like the distinguished trio, Khan Sahib was an achiever in his field. Today Dawn is more than a newspaper. It is an institution, a symbol of fair play of the fourth estate, thanks to Khan Sahib’s sustained strivings.
The comparison may sound odious, yet Khan Sahib’s death reechoes stirring lines I learnt at school:
“…O captain! My captain! Rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up! For you the flag is flung, for you the bugle trills:
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths, for you the shores a-crowding:
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning …”
I know Dawn staffers’ loss. I was once one of them.
May his soul rest in peace. (Ameen)
- Akhtar Mahmud Faruqui
Editor, Pakistan Link

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