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Pakistan has produced a number of great minds whose works have exerted, or have had the potential to exert great influence upon local as well as international geo-political issues. However, we have then gone on to summarily dismiss these heroes from memory. It is only after their death and usually at the urging of the international media that the worth of these great people is realized and appreciated. Only after our people receive acclaim and appreciation from prominent international organizations and universities that we give them the respect and recognition they deserve.
Eqbal Ahmed (1933-1999) was one such intellectual who devoted his life to speaking the truth and warning nations of the dire long-term consequences of their shortsightedness. He was only a child when he witnessed his father being murdered over a land dispute as well as the horrendous killings that occurred in the aftermath of partition some years later. Therefore, since a very early age he had been acquainted with man’s tendency to favor violence over diplomacy as a means of conflict resolution. Condemnation of force and military action as a means of resolving international disputes would later appear as a recurring feature in the entire corpus of his works and peace activism would become his lifelong agenda. After migration he continued his studies in Pakistan and then left for his undergrad studies in U.S.A. Later, in addition to teaching at numerous prominent American universities, including Cornell, he traveled to numerous countries where he acquired first-hand insights into the social and political problems of countries.
The extraordinary perspicacity and foresight with which most of his published works encapsulate the local geo-political situation of countries reveal the inner workings of a superior mind. But out of the sizeable body of his work, his speech at the University of Colorado in 1999 stands out as it predicts 9/11 and the resulting changes in the global world order in shocking detail. After this speech was aired in the aftermath of 9/11, the University received numerous calls from people who believed that it had just been recorded. After outlining very succinctly the confusion regarding the meaning of the term ‘terrorism’ and elaborating upon the types of terrorism, he ended with suggestions to the U.S. about its future course of action. He said: One cannot emphasize enough how relevant these suggestions were then and are today to reorganizing American Foreign Policy.
He said:
“First, avoid extremes of double standards.”
“Do not condone the terror of your allies.”
“Try to look at causes and solve problems. Do not seek military solutions. Diplomacy works.”
“Please help reinforce, strengthen the framework of international law.”
More than ten years after his death, the biggest irony that hits one after going through the afore-stated words is that American foreign policy since Eqbal Ahmed’s death has gone on to selectively commit each of the aforementioned blunders that he warned against. Israel, El Salvador and Nicaragua are only some of the countries whose acts of terrorism have been pushed under the carpet while much fuss is made over Afghan and Palestinian acts of terrorism. The U.S. has not been even-handed in its dealings with various countries resulting in much global antagonism. Iraq’s invasion was the biggest military catastrophe in American history. In addition the fact that Bin Ladin was pursued without a mandate from the International Court of Justice and drone attacks are being carried out in Pakistani territory (a transgression against Pakistan’s sovereignty) are only some of the many American transgressions against international law.
Eqbal Ahmed had warned America then that these policies would lead to a severe backlash from the developing world and 9/11 was that backlash. The shocking pertinence of his recommendations to the modern political scenario leaves the reader disturbed for it begs the question that if 9/11 and the reasons behind it were so clear to some people then why were they not heeded. It is only after his death that much of his work was reopened and circulated widely in prominent international educational circles.
In addition, it is important to note, that although he was quite liberal-minded himself he did not adopt an attitude of condescendence towards religion. He was in favor of those traditions that would bring society forward, instead of dragging it down to fundamentalism. In fact, Eqbal Ahmad was a great lover of the poetry of Ghalib and Faiz. As recounted by many, he would often translate some of their poetic works for the benefit of the people around him. His intellectual depth and fine taste in the arts resulted in his acquiring a small fan following of individuals who held him in the highest regard.
However the Pakistani bureaucracy, rather than giving Eqbal Ahmad the respect and freedom of action and mobility that he deserved, made things very difficult for him. Due to Ziaul Haq and his minions, his efforts to build the Khaldunia University in Pakistan were constantly thwarted. In Benazir’s time he was given land but then too he had to deal with numerous bureaucratic delays that made his dream of an open and liberal university in Pakistan impossible. Even today there is not a single prominent university in Pakistan that has announced a chair in his name. After his death, his family received calls and letters of condolences from many prominent international personalities including Kofi Annan while the Pakistan government did not even bat an eyelid over his death. It seems that he was truly appreciated only by the people that he worked with and who got to know him for what he was.
Quite a few people have written about Eqbal Ahmed after his death but I think he has been described most aptly by Irfan Hussain, his close friend for many years, who remembers him with the following quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “Here lies a man, when comes another.” 
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