Haji Adeel was a gentleman with strong political convictions

Obituary

Few knew he was a painter and lover of fine arts

PESHAWAR: Such was his commitment to issues close to his heart that the senior Awami National Party leader Haji Mohammad Adeel despite his illness attended an event Thursday at the Afghan Consulate in which famous Pashto ghazal singer Khyal Mohammad was honoured with Afghanistan’s highest civil award.

Death can come at any time, but those who met and saw Haji Adeel at the function in Peshawar could never have imagined that he will die later that night. Some of them were among the mourners at his largely attended funeral at the Jinnah Park on Friday.

At the Afghan Consulate event, Haji Adeel was requested to sit on the stage with other dignitaries. He looked pale and weak, but was attentive as he listened to speeches and left before the start of the second part of the function featuring a concert. He was now too old and ill to sit long and enjoy music.

When he was younger and healthy, Haji Adeel could talk for hours, make speeches, enter into an argument and indulge in banter. Loud and witty, it was nearly impossible to put him down.

At the age of 72, Haji Adeel breathed his last after struggling for years with diabetes and its complications that eventually caused his kidney failure. In fact, he had slowed down in recent years due to poor health. The end of his six-year term in the Senate in March 2015 almost brought to an end his long political career. He still wanted to attend events and make his presence felt, but his body was no longer able to bear the exertion.

The death of his young son, Mohammad Jibran Jaleel, some years ago caused him immense pain. He remembered him often. After Jibran Jaleel’s death, Haji Adeel attached his hopes with his other son, Mohammad Adnan Jaleel, who will now have to carry forward his illustrious father’s legacy even though he isn’t a politician.

Haji Adeel belonged to a prominent Hindko-speaking family of Peshawar. His forefathers had migrated from Afghanistan during Mahmud Ghaznavi’s rule and settled in Chamkani village outside Peshawar. In 1825 it shifted to Peshawar and slowly gained prominence in political and business circles.  

His father Hakim Abdul Jaleel Nadvi was a freedom fighter and an activist of the Congress party and the Khudai Khidmatgar movement of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan). The late Hakim Jaleel led the procession in Peshawar’s Bazaar-i-Kalan that was fired at by the British colonial forces. He was also in the procession in Qissa Khwani bazaar that was attacked by the British Raj soldiers. For three years from 1918 onwards, he was imprisoned in the Andaman Island prison, known as Kala Pani. An overhead bridge near Bazaar-i-Kalan is now named after him.

Haji Adeel was thrice elected MPA from Peshawar in 1990, 1993 and 1997 and served as finance minister and deputy speaker of the provincial assembly.  He lost election in 1988 and 2002 and was in the political wilderness until March 2009 when the ANP got him elected as member of the Senate. It was a good choice as the vocal Haji Adeel represented his party and province quite well. In his maiden speech in the Senate, he pointed out that his province produced 70 percent of the timber in Pakistan, 75 percent hydel power, 70 percent maize and 80 percent tobacco and yet it wasn’t getting its due share in federal resources.

Despite the ups and downs that he faced in his party, Haji Adeel remained loyal all his life to its leadership starting from Bacha Khan to Wali Khan and Asfandyar Wali Khan. His commitment to the party and nationalistic politics was total. For 21 long years he was president of ANP Peshawar. For the next 11 years he served as the central information secretary of the party. Next he rose in the ranks to become the senior vice-president of the party. It made him happy whenever Haji Adeel became the ANP’s acting president in absence Asfandyar Wali, the party’s central president.

Articulate and at times blunt, Haji Adeel could hold his own against anyone on political, constitutional and economic issues. He was a true democrat and a man of peace. He was an active lawmaker and a frequent participant in TV talk shows and conferences. Nobody could find fault with his Urdu, but his Pashto served to amuse Pashtuns. On occasions he would take extreme position on issues, but even then he was forever a genial and harmless person.

Not many knew that Haji Adeel was a painter and had remained associated with the Abasin Arts Council for years. His love for fine arts shaped his softer image and made him the gentleman that we all knew.