It is the mark of a great man that even after his death, all aspects of his personality are missed and remembered: father, brother, husband, son, friend, boss, subordinate, mentor. Those who knew our father Anwar Saleem Ahmad, remember him as an honest, dedicated man, with exceptional intellect and great wit.
We, his daughters, remember him as Aba - the indulgent father who took us on picnics, bought us our first Vital Signs cassette and giant stuffed pandas from his travels, let us frolic in his office, and always made time to listen to our stories. We grumbled when he set us annoying tasks like trimming the rose bushes, making professional phone calls, or finding out the strategic importance of the Strait of Malacca in a pre-Google world. Yet everything he made us do had a purpose, and a relevance to our lives as we grew up. An interest in learning about the world, taking time to smell the roses, or holding our own in all kinds of situations - all of it comes from lessons taught by our father.
Following the untimely death of his mother, our father was raised by his two elder sisters - a trio that was deeply devoted to each other in life and even in death, as they all passed away within three years of each other. Our father excelled at school for most of his life. He topped his Masters at QAU, where both him and our mother were among the first ever batch of International Relations students. He went on to achieve the coveted first position in the CSS examination and joined the Civil Service as a DMG officer. He rapidly rose through the ranks, holding senior positions in Balochistan and Punjab.
At the peak of his career in 1992, a fateful car accident left him permanently paralyzed. After extensive physical therapy, with our mother’s unshakeable support, he rejoined the civil service with a commitment and focus that often outstripped his able-bodied peers. While posted in Rawalpindi, he cleared a backlog of revenue cases that had been pending for decades, earning him the respect and gratitude of hundreds. In 1993, he began writing for The News. His incisive analysis gained a following of regular readers from around the world, and he remained a sought-after columnist for the next ten years - continuing to write up to a year before his death. In 2000, our father was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. He fought bravely, trying to keep us protected from the worst of his pain till the very end. On 18 April 2005, we lost our beloved father at the far-too-young age of 52.
Surviving grief for the last 18 years has been made somewhat easier by the steadfast outpouring of love we have continued to receive from all who knew him. For years, his well-wishers urged us to join the civil service in his honor. Yet all of us chose to forge our own paths in life - a decision our father would have welcomed and celebrated. Wherever life takes us, we strive to uphold his legacy of integrity, dedication, and a commitment to doing our best to make the world a better place.
We love you Aba, and we will miss you always.
Suraya, Saman, Maheen and Mariam Saleem Farooqi