Amma Ashraf Abbasi: Mother to all

By Safdar Ali Abbasi

When someone we love dies, a part of our own self dies too. There are no words deep enough to describe this time of sadness.

Looking back after two years of passing away of my beloved mother and a political mentor to many, Dr Begum Ashraf Abbasi, I am thinking about all those years which I spent with her not only as a son but also as a person who closely watched her in political life and the respect she got from all those who worked with her and whom she groomed in politics.

I just look back on the amazing feats that she performed ever since her birth on the first day of January 1925, that in itself was a feat; born on the first day of the calendar year with Capricorn being her star sign, the mountain goat firmly entrenched on the mountain side.

She along with her younger sister were the only Muslim girls who passed their Matriculation from Government High School Larkana in the late 30’s. Coming from a typical rural family where family traditions disallowed girls from making a career she topped in the Bombay Board and never looked back. Her brother Ali Muhammad Abbasi a veteran of the Hari Haqdar Tehrik with comrade Haider Bux Jatoi stood like a rock in pursuing her studies.

After completing her schooling she moved to Karachi and did her Intermediate from DJ Science College living with a Hindu family of Karachi. Her resolve to become a Medical Doctor took her to Lady Dufferin College Delhi as in those days there was no Medical College in Sindh and the choice was between Lahore and Delhi. The pressure to call her back mounted on Comrade Ali Muhammad Abbasi who wilted under family pressure. She was called back from Delhi and married to her first cousin Khan Muhammad Abbasi, my father a typical rural landlord who prayed five times a day, said his Tahajud and Ishraq prayers but more liberal than all the liberals combined when he gave in to the wishes of his life partner who wanted to complete her medical education after giving birth to two children Munawar and Akhter, my elder brothers. She forced her way into Dow Medical College Karachi soon after partition in 1948 and completed her medical education in 1953 with four distinctions and first position. She used to narrate to me an interesting episode when she got her first distinction in Anatomy. All the other students were agitated and protested on this to Prof. Abdul Waheed, Professor of Anatomy Dow Medical College. Prof Abdul Waheed had retorted to all those agitating “Baba that day she knew more Anatomy than me”, compliment that she cherished all her life.

After getting her degree she had all the choices of going abroad for Post graduate studies with multiple scholarships waiting for her as a lot of her colleagues decided to do so. Those were the days when the Pakistanis did not even require a visa for going to the United Kingdom. Here again was a decision time for her. She decided to return back to Larkana after completing her house job from Civil Hospital Karachi. Her feeling quite clear that her people needed her, her family needed her and foremost her two young children needed her. Those were the days when Larkana was a small, clean little town with a very competent Municipality and a protective police force.

She joined Civil Hospital Larkana as the only lady doctor. Here as a young doctor she had her first major interaction with the senior Bhuttos Sir Shahnawaz and Lady Khursheed. Before this she used to remember that whenever they were going back to their village from school she and her younger sister Adeeba Khanum were often called to AL Murtaza by Lady Khursheed, mother of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and mostly got affection from the lady who was known to be an amiable, likeable personality all over Larkana. She never met Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto until he became the foreign minister but she was on the death bed of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto attending to him as a young doctor. Twenty years of her active medical practice took her all over Larkana attending to her patients in the town and the rural areas. People of Nasirabad, Warah, Ratodero, Mirokhan, Dokri, Shahdadkot remembered her for attending to all her patients conscientiously monetary consideration being secondary.

The political instincts within her never waned. The political background of the Abbasi family made her make forays in local politics. She started taking interest in politics during the first Local Bodies elections for Basic Democrats in the Ayub era and was elected to the Khairpur Divisional Council. Here was the first time that Mr. Bhutto as a federal minister started to take notice of this lady doctor taking active part in politics of Larkana.

As the non-party elections for the National Assembly and provincial assembly came near all the major political families of Larkana the Bhuttos, the Khuhros and the Qazis made a political compromise sharing the seats amongst themselves. Abbasis not being part of this compromise nominated Mr. Ghulam Ali Abbasi s/o Comrade Ali Muhammad Abbasi for the West Pakistan Assembly. Thus stopping an unopposed election.

As the campaign was in full swing Mr. Bhutto started sending messages to my father through Sardar Pir Bux Bhutto, head of the Bhutto family, my father and Sardar Sahib being close friends. My mother was well aware that she would be pressurised by Mr. Bhutto to withdraw Ghulam Ali from the electoral contest but then my father prevailed upon both of them to at least meet Mr. Bhutto and talk to him directly. My mother got ready for the first direct contact with Mr. Bhutto who was more aware about the Abbasis association with the Bhuttos, the first comment being that Adi I cannot forget that your uncle and father-in-law Muhammad Panah Abbasi had supported Sir Shahnawaz in the first elections for Chairman Local Board Larkana back in 1932. Since all the major political families of Larkana have made this compromise I would request you to withdraw Ghulam Ali from this contest.

My mother was well aware of the odds stacked against her and the family but she took the courage to ask Mr. Bhutto whether he wanted her political death. He was flabbergasted that why would he want her political death as he respected her and her family. My mother clearly told him that he was well aware of the rural culture as once she got out of Al Murtaza she would be blamed for either bowing down to pressure or taking money.

As I think back and contemplate on this remark of my mother I feel this was the epitome of her resolve all her life, refusing to bow to pressure even if it was Mr. Bhutto, resolute in her thoughts and actions, incredible courage, ready to stick to her principles and ready to fight for whatever she felt was right. She spoke out the truth when others were scared to do so.

As she got up to leave Mr. Bhutto smilingly told her that whatever decision you make, you are my candidate for the ladies seat in the West Pakistan Assembly. My mother left Al Murtaza and smilingly thought: Will Mr. Bhutto remember this? Probably not was her answer to her inner-self.

The elections were over and Ghulam Ali Abbasi lost but he did not betray the confidence of the voters who stood by him despite pressure from all the leading political families of Larkana.

Lo and behold one day my mother received a message from Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the foreign minister of Pakistan through caretaker of Al Murtaza House Taj Muhammad to sign the nomination form for the ladies seats to the West Pakistan Assembly. Mr. Bhutto known for his impeccable memory did not forget that he had made a promise which he wanted to fulfill. She was elected to the West Pakistan Assembly by 14 votes to 11 defeating the candidate put forward by Pir Sahib Pagara and Makhdoomzada Hassan Mahmood as her constituency comprised of Bahawalpur, Khairpur and Quetta divisions. Major support for her came from Larkana and Nawab Sadiq Khan Abbasi. The Amir of Bahawalpur but the crucial votes were cast by Mr. Ahmed Nawaz Bugti brother of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Syed Zafar Ali Shah from Naushero Feroz. On the day of voting Mr. Bhutto sat at the steps of the assembly in Lahore. Her victory was a personal triumph for him.

They say that happiness and sorrow go together. Triumphs and defeats are part of human lives. The happiness on the national political scene was accompanied by the loss of her husband. My father left this world in a road accident near the town of Kotdiji. I was travelling in the same jeep. This was 1962 and I was hardly 5 years old. My mother raised me virtually as a single parent. She attended to her medical profession, gave time to her politics, was regular to her assembly sessions in Lahore and looked after the education of all three of us. Munawar Bhai remained in Larkana as he became the head of the family and did his Masters. Akhtar Bhai secured first position in the Board of Intermediate in Cadet College Petaro and later qualified as a Civil Engineer from NED College and I was sent to Aitchison College Lahore and subsequently did my Medicine from Dow Medical College. Our almamater being common. My mother was instrumental in raising all of us to positions where we are today.

She remained member of the West Pakistan Assembly till 1969 winning her second term in `1965. By then Mr. Bhutto had resigned from the Ayub cabinet and founded the Pakistan People’s Party. I vividly remember the day when Mr. Bhutto made that famous journey from Rawalpindi to Lahore by train after resigning from the cabinet. I accompanied my mother to the railway station and were able to get into the saloon too. That was my first experience of mass politics. The adulation and the love that he got in Lahore probably pushed him into Awami politics. My mother and our family remained part of the Bhutto journey ever since. Dr Ashraf Abbasi became an epitome of commitment and loyalty to the Bhutto philosophy.

My mother’s journey through politics made her the Member of the National Assembly in 1970, first woman Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly in 1973, Minister for Local Bodies in Sindh in 1977, long period of Zia dictatorship which took her to jails, detentions for umpteen times never wavering in her commitment. She defied Zia’s martial law with full vigour leading demonstrations, going underground, attending meetings announced and unannounced, travelling all over Pakistan using trains and Burqas. She always lamented the fact that despite mass support the Party and the people were unable to save Mr. Bhutto, one of the greatest nationalist hero. Her final meeting with Mr. Bhutto was in the Supreme Court of Pakistan when he was brought to record his statement.

The Pakistan People’s Party after 4 April 1979 was passing through one of the most crucial phase of its history. Mr. Bhutto was no more, Begum sahiba and Benazir Sahiba were detained in Sihala, most of the party leaders and workers were languishing in jails, the movement for the release of Mr. Bhutto was crushed with brute force. Zia had used the PNA to eliminate Mr. Bhutto and impose one of the worst fascist dictatorship in Pakistan. Soon the prediction that Mr. Bhutto would be a greater threat from the grave started to come true. People started to throng to his grave. Dr Ashraf Abbasi was made the Chairperson of the Mazaar committee and became the focal point for all the workers coming from every nook and corner of the country. Her house in Larkana became an abode for all of them and her amiable and polite behaviour endeared her to all of them and gradually from mother of three she became Mother to All. Every PPP worker felt proud in calling her Amma Ashraf Abbasi. All the three of us brothers had always conceded that Amma had other children also and probably they loved and adored her even more than us.

The high point in her career came when during the 1988 elections the PPP was facing a dilemma in choosing a candidate to contest against Sardar Sultan Ahmad Chandio in his bastion of Qambar and Warah. The party had already chosen their candidates for two seats in Larkana; NA-164 Begum Nusrat Bhutto and NA-166 Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. Nobody was coming forward to contest NA-165 against Sardar Chandio. The party leadership had even offered Sardar Chandio to contest on the Party ticket but he was adamant upon contesting as an Independent candidate and later joining the Party. This was unacceptable to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. When nobody was willing to contest Amma Ashraf Abbasi thundered that why were all the men dithering and that she was ready to contest. Bibi agreed and for the first time three eminent women of Pakistani politics were contesting all the National Assembly seats from one district, a record unmatched in electoral politics of Pakistan. All of them won by thumping margins. Dr. Abbasi defeating Sardar Chandio by a margin of 45000 votes. She was elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly for the second time -- poetic justice. Left as Deputy Speaker in 1977; struggled for democracy for eleven long years and returned as deputy speaker in 1988. As the parliament was dissolved by Ghulam Ishaq Khan her parliamentary career spanning over three decades ended but her resolve to carry on politics as the member Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan People’s Party and then Federal Council never waned.

Her continued illness after 2005 made her fade away but her intimacy with Shaheed Bibi continued, often visiting her in Dubai as Member of SZABIST governing board. She set up her own Mothers’ Trust for inculcating human values in society. On her return to Pakistan in October 2007 Shaheed Bibi made it a point to stay with her at least thrice on her visits to Larkana, the last one being on 23rd December 2007 never to return. Her martyrdom left a void in her life and hereon it was a slide towards her final abode breathing her last in the evening of 3rd August 2014.