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By Iftikhar Ali
NEW YORK, Mar 04 (APP): March 03 marked the fourteenth death anniversary of Safdar Ali Qureshi, a journalist of many parts and one the stars of Associated Press of Pakistan, who was acclaimed nationally and even acknowledged internationally.
Qureshi was elevated to the post of General Manger of APP in 1967 at the age of 40. Eight years later, the OIC selected him to establish International Islamic News Agency (IINA) in Jeddah. His years at APP were a high point in the national premier news agency’s history in Pakistan.
Indeed, in that period most copy flowing on APP’s rickety teletype machines could be compared to the service of any news agency in the world, and this was acknowledged by UNESCO, which published a report in 1977 authored by Davis Chipp, a former General Manager of Reuters, who conducted a month-long study of the working of the national agency, on the UN agency’s behalf.
Qureshi was professional to the core. Not only an outstanding journalist, he was an effective union leader, a gifted speaker and an able administrator—- all rolled into one.
In 1964, Safdar Qureshi shot to international fame when he landed a world exclusive: an interview with Chinese Premier Zhou en-Lai while on a trip to Beijing. The six-hour interview – covering key global topics, especially east-west relations and, of course, Sino-Pakistan ties – hit the headlines around the world.
The reason: it was the first interview Premier Zhou gave to a foreign journalist in 19 years! In the years after their liberation in 1949, the Chinese were busy consolidating their country as the US-led Western alliance pursued a containment policy. in that context, Zhou’s comments on and assessment of the international situation were of great interest and value to the world. During the marathon session with Zhou, Safdar finished eight notebooks while taking notes and his story was typed over 26 pages.
There was no way he could get his long copy across to Pakistan by telegram from Beijing– there were no internet, computers, telex services or fax machines in those days. So he rushed back to Karachi with his notes. I was then News Editor at APP’s Central Desk in the dilapidated Badri Building on I. I. Chundrigar Road. That day, I came to the office for duty at 1 PM and was surprised to see a excited but very tired-looking Safdar – he wasn’t expected back so soon from Beijing – typing away, with cups of tea in front of him and an ashtray full of cigarettes butts.
Without exchanging any greetings, he handed me a stack of papers and asked to start editing his copy. (Subsequently, I came to know that he had been typing since 8 am). “This is something very important”, he told me, with his eyes focused on the typewriter. As I began reading the story, I realized its importance and finished my work in about an hour, deployed two fast operators to cut the tape for teletypes, and then fired off an alert to the agency subscribers.
I congratulated him on the scoop, put his by-line on the story and the teletypes began churning it out. As the word spread, foreign correspondents based in Pakistan rushed to APP offices to pick up premier Zhou’s interview and file their dispatches. The next day, foreign journalists based in India, Singapore and Hong Kong flew into Karachi and interviewed Safdar – how he was able to get Zhou to give him an interview, the atmosphere in room where it as conducted, the colour of the dress the Premier was wearing, anything! Safdar’s own interview was also splashed around the world.
Safdar Qureshi had the looks of a movie star – tall, handsome, always impeccably dressed. A man with fine tastes, he was a collector of figurines and pieces of art. He commanded respect not just because of his competence, his imposing personality was also a factor. A decent person, he was a generous man and hospitable virtually to a fault.
A voracious reader and a keen sportsman, he was also fond of good food. As a journalist, he could easily fit into any role– reporting, editing and even sports coverage. He had a large circles of friends, including prominent and sportsmen, but one person he most admired most was Sartaj Aziz, a ormer foreign minister.
Having been a member of Lahore’s Government College cricket team, Safdar Qureshi had also become the main sports correspondent of APP. In 1957, he covered Pakistan cricket team’s tour of West Indies and became very popular in sporting circles and a close personal friend of all national test cricketers at that time.
His copy on Hanif Mohammad’s record breaking inning, od 337 runs, which lasted over 16 hours, was so graphic and well written that Reuters’ sports editor praised it. (He was covering the tour for both APP and Reuters).
In 1963, Qureshi was elected as President of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ). President Ayub Khan had just promulgated his infamous Press and Publications Ordinance 1963 to muzzle the media. Qureshi spearheaded the press campaign to agitate against this ordinance. He was re-elected President of PFUJ for a second two-year term in 1965. In that capacity he regularly represented Pakistan in meetings of the Afro-Asian Journalists Association in China and Indonesia.
On a campaign trail in 1970, when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto spotted Safdar and H.K. Burki (Pakistan Times) in a crowd of over 100,000 at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh, he said, “I’m delighted to see my friends – Safdar and Burki here– they’re respected journalist.”
I first met Safdar Qureshi in 1960 in Peshawar, where I was based, when he was accompanying Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser on his trip to Pakistan. In those days, APP always deployed specialist correspondents to cover heads of State/government. We became friends – one of our shared interest was cricket. Our friendship grew over the years until he was appointed to head APP. One of his first actions was to assign me the job he was holding before taking up the top post in the agency– Diplomatic Correspondent.
That position opened up lot of opportunities for me and was the reason for my posting as Special Correspondent at the United Nations in 1971. After
launching the IINA in Jeddah, he appointed me as IINA correspondent in NY, an additional job for me.
One winter night in 1968, I received a call in the middle of the night from Safdar– he sounded in great discomfort and asked me to call a doctor.
I called APP’s Doctor Pervez Akhtar and then jumped into my Mini Morris and drove off to Rawalpindi’s Mrs. Davies hotel, where he had a room. He was sweating and looked in great pain. I gave him water and was trying to make him comfortable when Dr. Akhtar arrived. The doctor took me aside and told me that Safdar was having a heart attack and that I should call specialist Dr. Ayub Mirza. While Dr. Pervez treated him, I tried in vain to get in touch with Dr. Mirza by phone.
Finally, I drove to his house, banged at his door and brought him to the hotel. After Safdar became a little better, he was shifted to a hospital where he fully recovered.
A pioneer of modern journalism in Pakistan, Safdar’s death left a big vacuum in the profession. People of his integrity and character are fast disappearing in the current highly commercialized environment.