Unsung heroes

Part - XXVI
Random thoughts
This is the story of some local and foreign suppliers who helped make Pakistan a nuclear power. The company Arshad, Amjad, Abid (AAA) Pvt Ltd belonged to Mian Farooq of Karachi. Mian Sahib was a gem of a person and a true Pakistani; handsome and with a good sense of humour. He belonged to Chiniot, but in his young days he had gone to South India and Bengal on business.
After Partition he settled in Karachi and established textile, artificial leather and air conditioner plants there. He had good business sense and obtained agencies for various German and Japanese firms. This turned out to be a great asset for us. Mian Farooq’s manager, M Aslam, was an efficient and fine person. He always travelled with Mian Sahib and looked after him as he if he were his father. Mian Sahib also dealt in aluminium false ceilings of good quality and once, while we were discussing his various activities, he mentioned that he represented some famous German companies.
I knew these companies from my work in Holland. They were famous for producing sophisticated nuclear equipment. I asked him to arrange a company’s visit to Pakistan. A senior vice president and three others came. Since I spoke fluent German, we were soon on very cordial and friendly terms and we visited their plants many times. We could buy a lot of essential equipment for our plant. These were all legal, legitimate deals; Letters of Credit were opened and the goods were exported with export permits.
At that time nothing related to centrifuge plants was under embargo. Another advantage in dealing with the company was that an engineer had earlier worked with a famous German firm, which, in addition to heavy machinery, was also involved in the German centrifuge G-2 machines; He had been an active member of that team. For our initial work we bought UF6feed and collection system, vacuum valves, vacuum pumps and electron beam welding machines. Through Mian Farooq we bought centrifuge balancing machines from Germany and he also supplied raw materials for our work.
The LH team had become like family and Dr Hashmi was on very good terms with them.
A doctor could eat green chillies like they were cucumbers and hot pakoras like they were sweet biscuits. He told me he used to pay Mian Sahib three to five percent commission, depending on the price of the deal, and Mian Sahib and Aslam had to cover their own travelling and board and lodging expenses. From Japan we bought Computational Numerically Controlled Machines and coordinate measuring machines through Mian Farooq.
The director of a Japanese firm, one Mr Gomi, was a thorough gentleman. He once took us to his house where his wife cooked food for us. The chairman of the company was a former naval officer who had served as naval attaché in Berlin during WWII. He spoke German fluently and I got along well with him. Mian Sahib also got excellent machines for us from South Korea. I can confidently say that we had the best manufacturing facilities in Pakistan and these were as good as any abroad. Meanwhile the Americans had started pressurising the German and Japanese governments to stop the export of materials and equipment to Pakistan. They even managed to pressurise the German government into holding Mian Farooq and Aslam for interrogation to find out the details of their activities and ours.
Some friendly police officer informed the company, which in turn told Mian Farooq and Aslam, who quietly slipped out of the country. They took a private taxi to Amsterdam, from where they took a PIA flight home. Sometime later the same thing happened in Japan. There a friendly intelligence officer informed Mr Gomi who informed Mian Farooq and Aslam. They took the first flight to Singapore and then back home.
These brave and patriotic people were taking grave risks for Pakistan, little realising that to do so would turn them into criminals in Pakistan. Both Mian Farooq and Aslam were harassed, insulted and threatened and their names placed on the ECL. When I was staying in Karachi with my sister while recovering from prostate surgery, Mian Sahib and S M Muneer wanted to come and see me, but they were rudely insulted and turned away. Unfortunately, after a few weeks Mian Sahib had a heart attack and expired in Aga Khan Hospital. He was a great patriot and a fine human being. KRL would often owe him Rs15 million to Rs20 million, which he would agree to take in instalments.
Together we did a lot of social work and managed to help many poor people. He and Saeed Bhai were my main supporters in establishing the Dr A Q Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at the University of Karachi and the Dr A Q Khan Institute of Behavioral Sciences (Mental Health) near Dow University of Health Sciences in Karachi.
The nasty and rude treatment meted out to Mian Sahib reminds me of another similar incident. Our dear friend and relative, Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmad, wanted to visit me in Aga Khan Hospital after my prostate surgery in 2006. To this end he obtained permission from the acting president, Muhammedmian Soomro (who had obtained a green light from the DG SPD). Senator Khurshid flew from Islamabad and landed at Karachi at noon and came straight to the hospital, but an ungrateful person, whom I had rehired after his retirement, stopped him from seeing me. Senator Khurshid waited at the hospital for two hours, after which he went back to the airport to catch the 4pm flight to Islamabad. Time and money wasted thanks to those who were more loyal than the king.
After my release from hospital I went to my sister’s house where I was taken good care of by Dr Atta, Javed Khan and Babar Islam and where Dr Farhat Abbas, a top-notch surgeon who became a good friend, paid me regular visits. After about five weeks we were flown back to Islamabad in a small army plane. The two-hour flight without movement resulted in thrombosis in my left leg. Back home we were once again confined to our house, which lasted until 2008 when the Hon Justice Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court declared my confinement illegal. However, this ‘freedom’ still has many restrictions.
Note: I do not answer SMS messages if there is no name. Nor do I answer phone calls from people whose names are not in my contacts. Please send an SMS before calling.
To be continued
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com