- The passing of a gentleman
Dr Mubashir Hassan’s death marked the end of a full life. That he was 98 only meant that he had packed much into those years. He was by education a civil engineer, and had obtained a doctorate in that subject from Columbia University. He began a teaching career when he returned to a newly independent Pakistan. He became inclined to political activism, and joined forces with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and it was at his house in Lahore in 1968 that the Pakistan Peoples Party was founded at a convention. When elections were held in 1970, the country went through the painful experience of the 1971 War. When Bhutto formed the government, he picked Dr Mubashir to be Finance Minister. He resigned from the post in 1974, because of differences with Bhutto over his treatment of Meraj Muhammad Khan, but he remained a supporter, and by then he had overseen the generalised nationalisation of industry that is the hallmark of the first PPP government.
He remained in touch with PPP Co-Chairman Benazir Bhutto, but did not join her government. Instead, when the PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) was formed he joined it. He was a gentleman of the old school, and brought to politics a kind of decency, a sort of politeness, that is not seen any longer. He brought to politics a kind of intellectual rigour, a kind of ideological commitment, which is no longer seen. Dr Mubashir was a formidably well-read man, which might help explain the friendship he had with the late Hameed Nizami, the founding Editor of Nawai-i-Waqt, which lasted until the latter’s death in 1962.
The contributions of Dr Mubashir, particularly in the 1970s, were such as moved the direction of national policy. His role in the Bhutto nationalisations is well known, but his role in Pakistan’s nuclear programme is not so well known. As a professional engineer he had been an informal adviser on scientific matters, into which the programme came. His role was formalised when he resigned as Finance Minister. He will be sorely missed, both for his personality and his contributions to national life, but also for the decency and politeness he represented.
