NEW DELHI: An eminent Bollywood actor and director Feroz Khan (born September 25, 1939 – died April 27, 2009) died of cancer in his Farm House at Banglore on Monday. He was 69. He died after battling cancer for a year at his farmhouse in Bangalore at 1.30 a.m. “Qurbani,Janbaaz,and Arzoo are few of his hits. He made a debut with his first film ‘Oonche Log’ in 1965. During his last visit to Pakistan he became controversial by giving critical observations about Pakistan. In 2006 he was President Pervez Musharraf banned his entry into Pakistan for his alleged ‘anti-Pakistan’ statements during the premier of Akbar Khan’s Taj Mahal in Lahore.

It was widely reported that Firoz Khan had misbehaved with Television anchor Faqr-e-Alam and he admitted saying that ‘India is a secular country where a Sikh Prime Minister and a Muslim President are the pride of the nation, unlike Pakistan which was created for Muslims but where Muslims are killing each other’.

Firoz Khan was born in Bangalore, India. His father was Sadiq Ali Khan Tanoli,who was a Pathan originally from Ghazni province of Afghanistan and his mother (Fatima) came from Iran. He has three brothers Sanjay Khan, Sameer Khan and Akbar Khan. After his schooling from Bangalore, he arrived in Mumbai where he made his debut as second lead in Didi (1960).

I dont know how you suddenly came into my life and brought happiness that i needed.You came so close to me,felt my pains and always encouraged me to lead a happy life.You are a person of material who has always shown correct path to me. Dada you promised that you will meet me when i will come to Dhaka.You told me and Maqbool that you are going to enjoy time with us in your place. Delwaar Da you did’nt keep your promise.

I met this person in Facebook (Thanks Facebook). I remembered the date. It was December 15th,2008 and the exact time was 7:36 PM. I found him commenting about some controversial topic. He was continuously fighting with some Pakistanis, who were saying something really bad about his country, Bangladesh. I supported his views and i sent him a message on Facebook. He replied me with a happy message and we became friends.We started becoming closer to each other sharing various view points about our Bengal. I used to tell him about Kolkata and he used to tell me about his motherland Dhaka.

Our relation was only based on social networking through facebook not more than that, but still this person became my friend, mentor and guide. Delwar Hossain Khan, the name that brings smile and happiness on everyone’s face, was a great person as far as i have analyzed him. He possessed immense knowledge on every subject regardless of history, medicine or religion…you name it and Delwaar Da was always there to give you an idea about the topic. A great entrepreneur with a great vision for Bangladesh and its people.

Within a short time of period he became really close to me. He used to get worried when i fall sick some time and was hospitalized. He even told my friend Dr. Maqbool Hussain that he is going to pray (Dua) for me so that i can recover soon. Dada was so conscious about my health that he once asked Maqbool to give the number of the doctor, so that he can directly ask doctor about my health. I can say only one thing that people can become so close to each other, even they don’t know each other, they became so close that it really hurts if he or she leaves us suddenly.

Delwaar Da, you are a great person. I will never forget you.You are my dada, you are my guide to show me correct path. Dada, wherever you are please bless me with your love and remember you didn’t keep your promise to meet me. Why you left us alone to cry? Dada…may God bless you with His choicest blessings. Joy Bangla…Joy Bangali was your favorite qoute. Joy Bangla dada..for you….Love you Mr.Khan!

Editor’s Note: Delwaar Hossain Khan was a common friend on Facebook. He was a kind heart man and always helped everyone understand what are the actual facts on several things. He passed away with Cardiac Arrest.

Readers of Pakistan Time along with Team of Pakistan Times pray for him that May Allah bless his soul and award higher levels in Heaven. And give patience to the family of bereaved; bear this loss. Ameen

I dont know how to respond to this.. death is strange thing.. i could never understand.. the pain it brings for those who are left behind and the relief it gives to the one whom it takes with it.. I can never understand the secrets it has in it. Since our birth we start striving for death and it keeps on dancing in front of our eyes; we wait for death and it comes close with every passing day.

We being Muslims believe that “every life has to decease to death”. People say life is uncertain but i firmly believe death is uncertain; it can come whenever wherever it has to come.

Whole team of Pakistan Times condole with Mahmood Akhtar Mahmood. He is one of dearest member of our team. Death of his sister in such early age is unbearable lose. For her parents, her 7-8 months old daughter, her 3-4 years old son, her husband and her brother who is far away from her and could not see her face last time. I know everyone will be settled after a month or so but an unending chain of sorrows and examinations starts for her kids who can not walk and talk properly. I can claim that i empathize his or her family’s pains; but my heart knows i can not understand their pains.

Early morning i opened my inbox and as usual a long list of emails to check.. but suddenly i stopped over to Mahmood’s email saying

Dear Rubab
I am sending you obituary of my sister to be published on Pakistan Times
mahmood

Mahmood!
I am confused whether i should share your feelings with world or not; can people understand the pain you are going through.. I certainly don’t know.. Even i am recalling my Father who died while i was only 7 and half; my grand mother; my cousin who was only 20 years old and her graduation results was out just after her death and my two maternal uncles who have just passed away in month of January 2009.

Perhaps everyone will recall their loved ones-like i am recalling. We forget this world and life is short-lived; we forget we have to return to our eternal homes; we get so busy in making marry and rejoicing that forget the pains and agonies of those innocent people who are either dying unnaturally either by diseases or bombs ; bullets or poverty; hatred or agony.

We live in ignorance and yeah die in ignorance; we live our own lives and forget our duties towards others; we forget we need to serve human beings; we need to spread love; what we remember is a competition..

I agree that being emotional is not advisable for Editor; but can we be so ruthless not to see the sufferings of humanity; cant we just stop for a minute and ask ourselves what are to be Humans?
Cant we just realize how much pain we have given to others; cant we just notice we are mere particles on earth; cant we feel we are not eternal; cant we take responsibility to make this world heaven; we yearn to be in heaven but we make life a hell just because we have stopped spreading love and transmitted negative energies in the world.

Can we just stop for a minute to give smile to others; can we just feel we can be eternal in hearts by giving love to others; can we treat whole humanity as Humanity not any creed not any religion not any colour.. I live in ignorance because people suffer because of me but that little sparrow; whose age of chirping was just started; butterfly who was giving colours to world in shape of her kids; She perhaps found the secret of death thus she left.

We are here to pray for soul; May Allah bless her soul in peace and higher her grades in heaven and bestow patience to the family of bereaved to bear this lose.

Obituary of my beloved sister Naseem Akhtar……..who has died so early in spring of her age and in spring season! ( May Allah rest her in peace)

My Younger sister has died…

Death is reality of life, but sometimes it has devastating affects not for the near and dear ones of departed; but even for the ideas which prop and sustain our lives. May be this is one of the moments in my life, I am thousands of miles away from my homeland and my younger sister has departed from this world leaving two kids in this mortal world.

Naseem was my sister, and till yesterday she was alive I talked to her days ago on phone she was admitted in hospital may be a month ago , but she was suffering silently and was victim of neglect of whom? I know, but I also don’t know. The life has painful realities and at the moment my reality is fluid and I am finding it very hard to accept my life’s decision as living away from my family. It is painful and I cannot hold my tears and I want to be stoic and there is no issue in denying that process of death is the transformation which liberates us from evils and sins of this world. Naseem is no more, now she cannot face more neglect and she died in silence as she was in her real life ………. Silent and I remember years ago , when she was sent away from our home to one of my Nanni (grand mother) as she was born very weak. For years we did not know of her and after many years she returned to our house ……. Her mother’s home or she was always homeless. She was homeless not in practical sense but in a spiritual and psychological sense and was married and she was still homeless. She has reached to her eternal abode; perhaps she was lost after death of Nanni…her mother… and searched her in the years she spent alone. My mother told me often she was silent and did not mix with others in our family, with other 10 siblings. Yes she lived in her own world and I will never be able to know secrets of that world………….we die in ignorance and live in ignorance.

My heart weeps, I weep as I try to write these lines, I cannot fathom this fact that she died so early, perhaps she endured enough. She was barely in her twenties. Daughter have to suffer, women have to suffer and this suffering wrenches my heart and it will keep on wrenching our hearts, the death is a fact and we can never run from it and no one can run from death…………but searching for love and belonging and then dying in process is a death which has pain painted over again and again with all the landscape colors of heart and soul.

Pain, pain and grief has overtaken me and also anger at human indifference and blaming cannot remove the signs of blood. Blood at invisible hands and blood spewed out of lungs, she died from lung disease and still I don’t know the real cause. Tuberculosis or what else? Perhaps there is no need to know as passed away souls cannot come back and let her rest in peace! May be her search has entered into another phase.

Life, death and pain… the eternal symphony sung in the march of human beings from cradle to grave. But these rhythms of life take a heavy toll willingly or unwillingly we have to suffer their brunt. She has left a daughter in cradle barely some months old and herself gone to sleep in the lap of earth…the ultimate cradle of human souls!

I remember her son Junaid, may Allah bestow Junaid with wisdom and courage of Junaid Baghdadi (RA), her mother is no more to look after him, to take care of him. The pictures ;when Naseem lost her path while going away from home to meet her Mausi (aunt) is in front of my eyes and I can relive the anxiety which I faced , that my sister is lost and how frantically was my mind racing to determine where she has gone. Now she is lost till the final day! Her silence had an ocean of ideas in herself. Memories have remained and they have become eternal by her untimely departure.

Spring of her age has been taken by autumn so early so suddenly and there is winter… a long long winter……when will spring come again? We mortals don’t know……… we can never know depths of human heart and human limits.

She longed for company and her pleasures of company with her children have been cut short by delicate balance of life and death. She yearned and thought of her kids on her death bed, her body was frail and she could no more cope with loneliness and mountain of pain surrounding her.

Vivid memories are casting shadows of reminiscence over my heart; perhaps they were so few and so personal. Many memories; will never lose their factual contours and anguish ingrained in them. May Allah rest her soul in peace, eternal peace!

She longed for company and her pleasures of company with her children have been cut short by delicate balance of life and death. She yearned and thought of her kids on her death bed, her body was frail and she could no more cope with loneliness and mountain of pain surrounding her.

ISLAMABAD: Sajjada Nasheen of Golra Sharif Pir Syed Naseeruddin Naseer died of heart attack here on Friday. He was fifty nine years of age and had written a number of books on Islam. His funeral ceremony will be offered today. President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the death of Pir Naseeruddin Naseer. Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Babar Awan expressing grief over the death of Pir Naseeruddin Naseer said his death is a big loss to the Islamic World.

Speaker National Assembly Dr. Fahmida Mirza and Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi have expressed their deep sense of shock and grief over the sudden demise of Pir Naseeruddin Naseer, Sajjada Nasheen of Golra Sharif who passed away on Friday. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker have said that late Pir Naseeruddin rendered commendable services for the propagation of Islam. They prayed Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage and fortitude to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.

I dnow know why i was thinking of Him for past several weeks. Believe it or not i searched his number in my contacts list yesterday night but it was my lethargic attitude that devoid me of calling or emailing him; my friends know it is very unlike me; i reach to friends and mentors in time of clicking fingers.

Mr. Azhar Massod broke this news that he passed away today of prostrate cancer in a Washington hospital and he was sad for losing a mentor. His cancer was treatable and doctors were hopeful and it was determined to carry out surgery to remove the cancer and doctors said that he would be able to recover and lead a restricted life of 3 to 4 years after the surgery. However Three days ago, Mr. Khalid Hasan caught pneumonia and his lungs collapsed, led him to death.

I had no opportunity to meet Mr. Khalid Hasan but i had long conversations with him on phone and exchange of emails. My friend Azhar Masood introduced me with Mr. Khlid Hasan while i was to visit Washington DC in 2008 to attend a course “Women and Entrepreneurship” under US International Visitors leadership Program. Besides He is a man of letters and an outstanding journalist of the old school he was a man of characters also.

I found few of his emails in my in box that i could not restrain myself from quoting those because my all perception about him is based on these emails and tele-phonic conversations. He was so quick on responding emails that he wrote me very first time saying:

Dear Rabab,

You are wearing more hats on your head than I can count. I had an exchange with Ms. Chibber and in fact she interviewed me once for her ejournal. Please phone me on my mobile when you arrive (703)981-2727. I look forward to meeting you.

Khalid Hasan

I learnt networking is very important in America on every level and acquaintances become strong references. I found Mr. Khalid Hasan adept at art of promoting people and building networks; when he introduced me to Engr. Khurram Dastagir Khan. On Eid i called him to wish and he disclosed that PML-N MNA from Gujranwala is visiting him. On Khurram’s return Mr. Khalid Hasan very kindly emailed Engr. Khurram Dastagir Khan to introduce me to him and he wrote:

Dear Khan Sahib,

You recall my mentioning a very bright young girl from Gujranwala who visited Washington some months ago on a State Department invitation. She lives in Gujranwala and you should be in touch with her as he is most enterprising and very Internet-savvy. Her name is Rubab Saleem and her email is rubab.saleem@gmail.com
Khalid Hasan

Sunday, May 25, 2008 11:12 AM

We could not see each other in Washington DC because of tough schedules on both sides but he promised to visit me at Gujranwala to eat Chirras and Tikkas (Special and famous BBQ from Gujranwala). On basis of his words i dared writing him

dear Khalid sahib!
I am sure we will see each other at my place also in Gujranwala; Pakistan. I am sure you would not refuse Khurram Dastgeer sahib’s CHIRA TIKKA Lunch/Dinner, you can have Sumptuous Tea at my place with home made cakes and other delicious recipes of samosa, dehi baray, jalaibi; you might have been missing or only recalling these as unhealthy and full of calories.( ha ha ha)

hoping to hear from you and Khurram sahib.. thank you once again
Best regards
Love from Pakistan

Rubab Saleem

He was so humble and down to earth that on being addressed as “Respected” and “celebrity” he asked me not to..

Dear Rubab,

Do please not use “respected” and “celebrity” when referring to this most humble person. There is no need to do that and I really mean it.
Khalid Hasan

Wed, Feb 6, 2008 at 10:13 AM

When people depart; leave us recalling sweet memories attached to them; we realize how important there presence and guidance would have been. The void their absence created can not be filled ever. May Allah higher his grades and give patience to the family of bereave bear the lose ameen

Ahmed Faraz: Main jaa chuka phir bhi teri mehfilon mein hoon!

I am not an obit writer; nor do I aspire to become one. August was a month of poetic obituaries; it was a month when angel of death plucked out longstanding poetic trees in two different countries: first it was Mahmoud Darwish of Palestine, and now Ahmed Faraz of Pakistan who died on August 25 at the age of 77. If Darwish penned the pain of Occupied Palestine, Faraz mourned a militarist Pakistan. Both voices signified the poetry of protest which is the last refuge of Muse. Surprisingly both bore an uncannily pictorial resemblance. Continue Reading

ISLAMABAD: The 11th death anniversary of world’s most outstanding vocalist the great Sufi Qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was observed Saturday. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Pakistani singer who had worked with such Western musicians as Eddie Vedder, Peter Gabriel and progressive guitarist and producer Michael Brook, passed away 11 years ago. Continue Reading

BIRMINGHAM: Chief Patron Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK, Syed Munwar Hussain Mehshadi, President Mohammad Ghalib, Secretary General Mufti Abdul Majid Naeed and Vice President Chaudhry Mohammad Sharif have condoled the death of prominent Kashmiri politician and religious scholar Qari Saifuddin. In a joint statement issued from Birmingham Office of the organization they paid rich tributes to the late Kashmiri leader for his great services for Kashmir freedom movement and for his life time struggle for the preservation of Kashmir’s Islamic identity. Continue Reading

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Nawabzada Khwaja Mohammad Khan Hoti has expressed grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Sultan Muhammad Sabir, the founder and Chief Editor of Pushto Daily Hewad. In a condolence message from abroad, he prayed Almighty Allah may rest the departed soul in eternal peace and give courage and fortitude to the members of the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with patience.The Minister also praised the contribution of late Sultan Mohammad to Pashto literature and journalism.