Role model for leaders

On Monday, my wife and I were invited to a small dinner at a friend’s place where the conversation, somehow, veered towards the Aga Khan network. And it stayed there for most of the time that we were there. This was because we all had our stories to tell.

Apparently, the trigger was a reference to how the richest man in the world had become instrumental in the withdrawal of assistance to the poor and needy in many countries of the world. This is how the most powerful country is exercising its power in the second coming of Donald Trump.

So, the question is: what do you do when you have the power and the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people? What goals do you pursue and what values do you practice?

Anyhow, that dinner-time conversation was still alive in my recollection when early on Wednesday morning I learnt about the death of Prince Karim Aga Khan in Lisbon on Tuesday. Naturally, I was a little struck by that coincidence. As if our observations had set the stage for us to honour an exceptional person who, without being a ruler of a country, did change the world in some ways.

He was the Imam of the Ismaili Muslims who are said to be about 15 million in number and reside in more than 30 countries. They are concentrated in Central Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and East Africa. They also have a large presence in Canada. Though the Ismaili ‘Imamat’ goes back 13 centuries, this 49th hereditary Imam was a leader of our times.

Obviously, the principal role of the Imam was to interpret the faith for his followers and to strive for the improvement of the quality and security of their lives. He had this realm to govern, in a sense. However, he also shaped a global vision of tolerance by building bridges between faiths and creating institutions that are meant to serve entire communities.

Now, the world has condoled the demise of Prime Karim Aga Khan, who was 88 and had become the Imam when he was 20. There is so much to be said about him but I can only touch upon some personal memories and experiences that relate to the work of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in the little space that I have. Some prominent Ismailis have been our friends and acquaintances. I particularly want to mention Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, the founding president of the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi.

My wife Sadiqa had worked for the Aga Khan Foundation and was chosen to be the first executive director of the NGO Resource Centre that the foundation was setting up. She was sent to Geneva to be interviewed by His Highness himself and she fondly remembers that meeting.

In my long career as a journalist, I have travelled widely and to some very remote and exotic places. But perhaps the most exciting and adventurous journey that I have made was a tour of Tajikistan in 1998, on the occasion of Prince Karim’s second visit to the country where Islamilis live mainly in the Gorno-Badakhshan province in the mountainous Pamir region.

The Aga Khan had first visited Tajikistan in 1995, in the aftermath of a civil war in the country that had left his followers in a difficult situation. This was the first time that the Islamailis in Badakhshan had a ‘deedar’ of their Imam. A massive operation was immediately launched for the uplift of the people of that area and the second visit, in 1998, was meant to study the changes that had been achieved and to monitor the projects underway in the country.

For me, it was like a fairy tale, an excursion into an unknown land. We were there for more than a week. I was the only journalist from Pakistan in a media team of 10, invited from many different countries. There was a large team of experts and consultants and officials of the AKDN. One fact: the team had six big Russian helicopters at its disposal besides numerous vehicles.

A trek I made in the Pamirs in a Russian jeep with two Portuguese media persons was a thrilling experience. In fact, when I wrote my travel pieces for Jang in 2000, which were later compiled in a book by Sang-e-Meel, the Tajikistan adventure constituted a number of chapters.

Sadly, there are so many other memories that relate to AKDN activities which I must leave out. Only a glimpse is possible of the celebration of Aleppo as the Arab world’s capital of Islamic culture for 2006. I had the good fortune of attending it and Prince Karim was the main celebrity at its inauguration because the Aga Khan Trust for Culture had restored the city’s medieval citadel and had done other works in the area. My column published in this newspaper on March 26, 2006, was titled: ‘A rainbow in Aleppo’.

Let me name the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) that brought about a revolution in the northern areas, particularly in Hunza. I have some knowledge of it because I had a tour of the project as the spouse of a member of its board of governors many years ago.

Finally, there is this example of the Aga Khan Hospital complex that has continued to expand. I had noted that Prince Karim had built institutions, a task that only visionary leaders accomplish. There are many other institutions that represent the legacy of the kind of leader this troubled world desperately needs. If only we had a few leaders like him.

To end with another personal note, my elder daughter Sheherbano just happened to be with me when I had to go to the Aga Khan Hospital in the early 90s. She was doing her A levels without any definite career goal. She was so fascinated by that place that she impulsively blurted out: “If I can get admission here, I will study medicine. Otherwise, it’s English literature”. And yes, she is a proud AKU alumna.

It is in countless lives that the wisdom and the generosity of Prince Karim Aga Khan will survive.

The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com