Abdul Malik Hashmi came to Peshawar to teach and never left

‘Principal Sahib’ is no more

Obituary

PESHAWAR: Abdul Malik Hashmi who died recently served as principal of Quaid-e-Azam College of Commerce, University of Peshawar for so long that he came to be known simply as Principal Sahib.

Hashmi died on November 17 at the age of 82 and was buried in his adopted hometown Peshawar. He was born in Hoshiarpur district in Indian Punjab, but his family migrated to Pakistan after partition and settled in Lahore. Hashmi did his Masters in Commerce (M.Com) from the famous Hailey College of Commerce Lahore and got a gold medal. He served at several other institutions before finally joining Quaid-e-Azam College of Commerce in Peshawar. He retired from the same college after serving as principal for 25 long years. .

This college was established according to the wish of Quaid-e-Azam, who wanted an educational institution of business and commerce in this under-developed area. Hashmi was a pioneer in this field and his contribution is so widespread that currently majority of experts in the field of business and commerce are directly his students or students of his students.

Hashmi also served as treasurer of the University of Peshawar for two years. He did his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the US. After retirement, Hashmi served as advisor to the Institute of Management Studies as well as the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar.

“Abdul Malik Hashmi was an honest and upright person. He was physically frail, but was such a bold person that no pressure from the government, bureaucracy, politicians and students’ unions could influence him. Principal Sahib was an excellent teacher and a competent administrator,” recalled Dr Ziauddin, an academic and author.  “One of the reasons for his 25 years long stay as principal was that the university administration could not find someone of his calibre to replace him,” he added.

Hashmi managed students’ leaders belonging to various groups tactfully. Late Syed Qamar Abbas of Pakistan People’s Party and Asfandyar Wali Khan of Awami National Party were his students and were studying in the same class. People could see him riding his bicycle at the University of Peshawar campus and using public transport after retirement. One could find him at bookshops or libraries as he wanted to keep his knowledge about his field updated.

“The late Hashmi was one of those teachers who migrated to Peshawar from many places, made it their home, served the people and died and were buried in the city. The establishment and growth of University of Peshawar became possible due to the selfless contribution of many such scholars,” commented Dr Ziauddin.