Fauzia Wahab: A trailblazer for Pakistani women
June 21, 2012
Fauzia Wahab’s death is a colossal tragedy we can only hope to ever overcome. PHOTO: FILE
Pakistan has lost a very special person. A woman who stood up for what she wanted, who spoke out in spite of criticism, who spread smiles with her wit and played a major part in empowering Pakistani women. The demise of Fauzia Wahab is an irrecoverable loss. She was an absolutely admirable woman and the mother of the nation. May Allah bless her soul and give our bereaved nation the courage to cope with this tragedy.
Wahab fought for democracy, human rights and women’s empowerment. Through sheer hard work, dauntlessness and sincerity, she became the face of the country’s largest political party, PPP, and by virtue of her own personal background and dedication, she became the voice of the middle class.
In countries like Pakistan, it is very difficult for a woman to participate in politics and earn the kind of respect Wahab was destined to get. She was a natural and effortlessly set an example for women all over Pakistan. Through her visible and indirect role as PPP MNA and office bearer, she accomplished milestone after milestone for women’s empowerment. She played a key role in a number of bills related to women empowerment, changing the face of how women are treated in Pakistan.
Wahab never shied away from helping women who hailed from lower and middle classes. In fact, many women felt secure in sharing their problems with her. Her efforts for making quiet, oppressed Pakistani women come out of their shell and ask for their due rights is commendable.
A popular parliamentarian, Wahab enjoyed great support for her work. She embarked on her political career by volunteering for the PPP in the 1988 general elections. In 1995, she became the information secretary of the PPP Sindh Women’s Wing. She also remained a member of the party’s advisory council from 1994 to 1996 and chairperson of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s information committee from 1994 to 1995. Foreign affairs, finance and women’s development issues interested her in particular. Later on, in 1998, Benazir Bhutto nominated Wahab to become the Central Coordinator of the Human Rights Cell and she was tasked to correspond with human rights defending organisations abroad.
In 2003, she attended the National Defence College course for bringing the politicians and Armed forces close to each other. She was one of the initiators of relationship with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and was invited to attend the “Win with Women – Global Initiative” of the Institute in December 2003. In June 2004, she was invited by the NDI to attend the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.
She was appointed central information secretary of party in 2009.
Wahab chose to side with the PPP because she believed that it was the only political party open to liberal democratic values and that it was not plagued with gender discrimination. Her dedication to PPP was matchless. She always defended her party even in the most difficult of times. Wahab was unstoppable and the most honest person and, in my opinion, the only leader who followed the footsteps of Benazir Bhutto. Her vision and practical politics were in accordance with the fundamental documents of PPP. Moreover, she upheld the liberal face of PPP in a highly polarised, fanatic and charged environment of Pakistan. No doubt, she was a courageous woman. She is described by her friends and family as a witty person who loved a good sense of humour.
It is a tragedy indeed that her outspoken and secular voice is no more.
Her sad demise is a big blow for Pakistan and the vacuum created after her death will never be filled.
Fauzia Wahab: Likes of her are not born everyday
Comment
Wajid Shamsul Hasan
IN the untimely death of PPP MNA Fauzia Wahab, 56, Pakistan has lost a rising star on the national political horizon. She was one politician whose uprightness, incorruptibility, honesty and commitment to democracy have been acknowledged unequivocally by even her political opponents with whom she was always crossing swords in defence of her party and leadership. Her being above board recognised by all is the best tribute to her.
Fauzia had made her mark at the Karachi University as a firebrand speaker, a top class debater both in English and Urdu and a liberal secular student activist. Her love for democracy was embedded in her from her student days when she used to be in the forefront of democratic movement against dictatorship.I had known Fauzia since late 1970s when her husband Wahab Siddiqui joined the Jang Group. He got associated with me when I was editing Daily News and Weekly Mag. He was also TV anchor in those good old days when PTV was the only channel. Despite PTV being state owned Wahab maintained neutrality which is rare among TV anchor these days.
Her husband Wahab Siddiqui died in the prime of his life and Fauzia as a young widow became a single mother to bring up four children. It were her singular qualities that she not only proved herself to be a caring mother but also took upon herself task of earning a respectable livelihood in a male chauvinistic environment as well as pursuing her political ambitions as an activist totally committed to the cause of democracy and a liberal Pakistan. I fondly remember with enormous admiration her forceful presentations in support of democracy, empowerment of less privileged including women and minorities. I could see her blossoming into a politician of high repute. The judicial murder of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979 was a turning point in her life. As one striving to hold on her own she was beholden to martyred Bhutto Sahib’s politics. Obviously when she decided to be in politics she opted for PPP under the leadership of martyred Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as the means to achieve her higher ideals. And once she joined PPP her talents and organisational capabilities caught Benazir Bhutto’s attention and she was chosen by her for an important role in PPP.
Fauzia became a career woman by working for a commercial leasing as a Marketing Manager between 1993 and 1996 while pursuing her political activities. In recognition of her sterling qualities she was nominated as Member Advisory Council of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in October 1994. She was also nominated as Chairperson of the Information Committee of KMC.Having tested and tried her loyalty the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto nominated her to become the Information Secretary of Women’s Wing of the PPP in Sindh. She proved her mettle by making PPP’s women wing an effective arm of the party.
After the unconstitutional dissolution of the PPP In the general elections in October 2002 Fauzia was nominated by PPP leadership as a candidate for the reserved seats for women in the National Assembly. As MNA she was also made part of Standing Committee on Privatization and Standing Committee on Economic Affairs. In both she performed immensely well. Her contribution was laudable as member of the NA Finance Committee that looked after the budget of the assembly.
Fauzia attended in 2003 the National Defence College course for bringing the politicians and Armed forces close to each other. She made her mark as one of the main initiators of relationship with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and was invited to attend the “Win With Women – Global Initiative” of the Institute in December 2003. In recognition of her services she was also invited in June 2004 by the NDI to attend the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Fauzia also represented PPP on a study tour of the German Parliamentary System in 2004.
During the National Assembly of 2002- 2007, she was a very active member of the opposition involved in legislative business. She was also a mover of a number of bills including a bill on the environment and a ban on polythene bags. She was nominated again for a second term by the PPP and returned to the National Assembly. Because of her communication skills she was appointed PPP’s Information Secretary. As Information Secretary, Fauzia became an ex-officio member of the Central Executive Committee of the Party. She earned appreciation for her defence of the government and leadership.
In her death PPP and Pakistan have lost one of the most dynamic, vociferous and dauntless defenders of democracy and rights of the people. Like of her not born every day.
—The writer the High Commissioner for Pakistan to UK.
Fauzia Wahab — a sane voice and holder of progressive values
By Farhad Jarral
Fauzia Wahab had been admitted to Orthopedic Medical Institute Karachi for the past 23 days and was fighting for health after her primary gall bladder surgery. She passed away on Sunday and left her family and many followers alone.
Late Fauzia Wahab was a courageous lady, a democratic voice who fought against extremism, bigotry and was upholder of progressive values. She fought with dictatorship in a way, which many male leaders couldn’t. She was a loving and kind lady and treated every jayala like her own son. I am proud of being her student in politics and learning Pakistani politics from her. She was more like a mother to me, a teacher who always taught lesson of democracy, a guide who always showed the right path and a senior leader who supported me at every platform of the Pakistan People’s Party. She also termed Shaheed Salmaan Taseer’s murder a political murder and she dared to speak the truth, which nobody could do.
I was introduced to Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari by Ma’am Fauzia Wahab when she was at the death anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto at Naudero. Even my first meeting with Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari was organised at Bilawal House, Karachi by Fauzia Wahab.
In a telephonic conversation with MNA Kashmala Tariq after Fauzia’s death, she said that she couldn’t stop her tears. She said she always teased her and opposed her in finance committee meetings of the National Assembly. Though it was totally professional, but I found her a wonderful mother, a true democratic person and a struggling politician.
President Zardari said Fauzia was a steadfast loyalist of the party who braved difficult situations. The democratic voices of Pakistan also termed her demise a big loss for democratic Pakistan.
She was a role model for all the middle-class women of Pakistan who lose strength in tough times. But Fauzia Wahab struggled after her husband Abdul Wahab Siddiqui’s death. The results she got was an accountant Ali Wahab who’s settled in a Gulf country and working on a good post at a bank, Barrister Murtaza Wahab who has done his bar at law from UK and now practicing in Karachi, and a daughter who is married.
It was a time when she was free from family responsibilities and was enjoying time with her family. But time is never ours because every human being has to die one day and it’s a reality, which we believe in. We have lost a sane voice today and we pray to Allah for her forgiveness. Fauzia Wahab will ever be remembered in good words whenever we will talk about a progressive, democrat and a liberal Pakistan.
Sabir Shah
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 From Print Edition
It was hot and humid 2010 evening, when the late Fauzia Wahab had invited this scribe over an Iftar dinner at Lahore’s Governor’s House.
While she was fasting, this correspondent found Fauzia sitting on the prayer mat, reading the Holy Quran, going through its literal translation and interpretation with utmost devotion.
“Don’t laugh at me. I am no mullah, but we need to know what Allah has directed us to do. Alas, none of us wishes to believe that we all have to die one day and revert back to the Creator with all our misdeeds,” Fauzia Wahab had remarked while wrapping up the prayer rug shortly before the Maghrib azan.
Tears rolled down her eyes as she discussed the Quranic verses with this relatively ‘ignorant’ guest.
After dinner, she opted to have a long walk around the spacious lawns of the Governor’s House, a building she loved most for its grandeur, architecture and ambiance.
This scribe had a chance to meet Fauzia about half a dozen times during her tours to Lahore. On all these occasions, she was quite perturbed about what she dubbed “media’s harsh stance” against President Asif Zardari.
“Come what may, I will stand by the president always. If he is guilty of any wrongdoing — are all his critics angels? I mean, enough is enough! Your media regularly targets a man who hates to defend himself. Not fair. All guns are pointed towards a single man,” she would opine.
Fauzia was a friend to her children too.
Though she would regularly reprimand her young sons, Ali and Murtaza, out of affection, she was extremely liberal with them as well.
With her untimely death, the waiters at the Governor’s House would also miss this soft-spoken and generous lady politician.
“See, I can do nothing to practically end the miseries in their lives, but the faces of these poor waiters shine when I talk to them about their families. You know they will feel very happy and quote their interaction with me for days. I can give them nothing more than a few good words,” she would turn back to this correspondent and elaborate the reason for her frankness with the waiters.
And yes, all these waiters would stand in a queue, while Fauzia used to pack up before departing for Karachi.
And this was quite a common sight always.
Married twice, the 56-year old Fauzia Wahab had worked for the Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Leasing as a Marketing Manager between 1993 and 1996.
Very few would know, as she had told this scribe herself, Fauzia Wahab had also acted in writer Haseena Moin’s drama serial ‘Kohar’ in 1991 during the life-time of her first husband — the late television anchor Wahab Siddiqui.
When the convoy of the PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto was attacked in Karachi by a suicide bomber on October 18, 2007, she was also aboard the truck carrying her party leader.
She would often recall the terrifying moments when Benazir’s convoy was targeted.
While Fauzia was impressed with her party mate Sharmila Faruqui’s conviction and sincerity for the PPP, she was a fan of the sitting Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira’s logical conversation and polite tone.
“We need more people like them, honestly. They do their homework properly before coming to any television programme,” Fauzia would often assert.
Fauzia Wahab’s death: PMDC to probe ‘medical negligence’
By Sehrish Wasif
Published: June 20, 2012
Council has sent a letter to the hospital asking for the MNA’s medical records.
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on Tuesday constituted a committee to probe allegations of medical negligence causing PPP MNA Fouzia Wahab’s death.
The committee will consist of senior doctors who will ascertain if medical negligence played a role in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader’s death after or during her gallbladder operation in a Karachi hospital.
In a letter dated June 18, the council asked the Orthopaedic and Medical Institute in Karachi to submit a list of all doctors concerned with the case and the degree of their involvement along with a brief summary of the case with relevant records and the role of each doctor during the medical procedures.
Wahab died on Sunday from complications following her primary gall bladder surgery, which led to internal bleeding and serious breathing problems.
“The reply must be accompanied by an attested copy of the PMDC registration certificate of each attending doctor,” said the letter.
PMDC Registrar Dr Ahmed Nadeem Akbar said, “It seems strange that a person with a gallstone would die of septicemia— a life-threatening infection that spreads very quickly through the body. Wahab went into critical condition two weeks after a relatively routine surgery and had been under treatment for the past three weeks.”
Dr Akbar said the surgery was “simple” and “it is difficult to understand how this infection developed”.
He said if the probe committee finds any kind of negligence on the part of any of the doctors who treated her, the PMDC will cancel their license refer the case to a criminal court.
He added that all the medical reports will be properly checked and reports regarding medical negligence would be investigated by a panel of the country’s leading doctors.
He said every year PMDC cancels the licenses of three to four doctors across the country over medical negligence.
“PMDC has been monitoring such cases on regular basis to ensure the safety of patients and negligence, if any, will be dealt with strictly under PMDC rules,” said the doctor. He added that people should report cases of medical negligence to the council to help create a better healthcare system in the country.
The Interior Ministry has also constituted a committee to probe Wahab’s death.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2012.
The sad demise of the PPP MNA Fauzia Wahab is a great loss to her party. An intelligent and bold woman, her services particularly related to her work for human rights are remarkable. When she was head of the Human Rights Cell of PPP, she did a great deal of work for the oppressed and poor belonging to the minorities. She was very vocal in cases of violation of their fundamental rights. She was convinced that the Blasphemy Law has further divided people into Muslims and non-Muslims and she opposed it with all her logical arguments.
After being elected on a reserved seat of women in 2008, she defended the present government on all forums. She became very famous due to her participation in different TV talk shows. With her unique style of talk, she played a role of defender like a soldier, and that later become her identity. Whatever be the case and circumstance, her loyalty with her party has been exemplary. As a party activist, sometimes she adopted an aggressive attitude and paid a price for it but never complained about anything. Her services will be remembered for times to come. Now when she is no more with us, let us pray for her departed soul. May she rest in peace.
Fauzia Wahab: A trailblazer for Pakistani women
June 21, 2012
Fauzia Wahab’s death is a colossal tragedy we can only hope to ever overcome. PHOTO: FILE
Pakistan has lost a very special person. A woman who stood up for what she wanted, who spoke out in spite of criticism, who spread smiles with her wit and played a major part in empowering Pakistani women. The demise of Fauzia Wahab is an irrecoverable loss. She was an absolutely admirable woman and the mother of the nation. May Allah bless her soul and give our bereaved nation the courage to cope with this tragedy.
Wahab fought for democracy, human rights and women’s empowerment. Through sheer hard work, dauntlessness and sincerity, she became the face of the country’s largest political party, PPP, and by virtue of her own personal background and dedication, she became the voice of the middle class.
In countries like Pakistan, it is very difficult for a woman to participate in politics and earn the kind of respect Wahab was destined to get. She was a natural and effortlessly set an example for women all over Pakistan. Through her visible and indirect role as PPP MNA and office bearer, she accomplished milestone after milestone for women’s empowerment. She played a key role in a number of bills related to women empowerment, changing the face of how women are treated in Pakistan.
Wahab never shied away from helping women who hailed from lower and middle classes. In fact, many women felt secure in sharing their problems with her. Her efforts for making quiet, oppressed Pakistani women come out of their shell and ask for their due rights is commendable.
A popular parliamentarian, Wahab enjoyed great support for her work. She embarked on her political career by volunteering for the PPP in the 1988 general elections. In 1995, she became the information secretary of the PPP Sindh Women’s Wing. She also remained a member of the party’s advisory council from 1994 to 1996 and chairperson of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s information committee from 1994 to 1995. Foreign affairs, finance and women’s development issues interested her in particular. Later on, in 1998, Benazir Bhutto nominated Wahab to become the Central Coordinator of the Human Rights Cell and she was tasked to correspond with human rights defending organisations abroad.
In 2003, she attended the National Defence College course for bringing the politicians and Armed forces close to each other. She was one of the initiators of relationship with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and was invited to attend the “Win with Women – Global Initiative” of the Institute in December 2003. In June 2004, she was invited by the NDI to attend the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.
She was appointed central information secretary of party in 2009.
Wahab chose to side with the PPP because she believed that it was the only political party open to liberal democratic values and that it was not plagued with gender discrimination. Her dedication to PPP was matchless. She always defended her party even in the most difficult of times. Wahab was unstoppable and the most honest person and, in my opinion, the only leader who followed the footsteps of Benazir Bhutto. Her vision and practical politics were in accordance with the fundamental documents of PPP. Moreover, she upheld the liberal face of PPP in a highly polarised, fanatic and charged environment of Pakistan. No doubt, she was a courageous woman. She is described by her friends and family as a witty person who loved a good sense of humour.
It is a tragedy indeed that her outspoken and secular voice is no more.
Her sad demise is a big blow for Pakistan and the vacuum created after her death will never be filled.
Dr Saifur Rehman
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/12250/fauzia-wahab-a-trailblazer-for-pakistani-women/
Fauzia Wahab: Likes of her are not born everyday
Comment
Wajid Shamsul Hasan
IN the untimely death of PPP MNA Fauzia Wahab, 56, Pakistan has lost a rising star on the national political horizon. She was one politician whose uprightness, incorruptibility, honesty and commitment to democracy have been acknowledged unequivocally by even her political opponents with whom she was always crossing swords in defence of her party and leadership. Her being above board recognised by all is the best tribute to her.
Fauzia had made her mark at the Karachi University as a firebrand speaker, a top class debater both in English and Urdu and a liberal secular student activist. Her love for democracy was embedded in her from her student days when she used to be in the forefront of democratic movement against dictatorship.I had known Fauzia since late 1970s when her husband Wahab Siddiqui joined the Jang Group. He got associated with me when I was editing Daily News and Weekly Mag. He was also TV anchor in those good old days when PTV was the only channel. Despite PTV being state owned Wahab maintained neutrality which is rare among TV anchor these days.
Her husband Wahab Siddiqui died in the prime of his life and Fauzia as a young widow became a single mother to bring up four children. It were her singular qualities that she not only proved herself to be a caring mother but also took upon herself task of earning a respectable livelihood in a male chauvinistic environment as well as pursuing her political ambitions as an activist totally committed to the cause of democracy and a liberal Pakistan. I fondly remember with enormous admiration her forceful presentations in support of democracy, empowerment of less privileged including women and minorities. I could see her blossoming into a politician of high repute. The judicial murder of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979 was a turning point in her life. As one striving to hold on her own she was beholden to martyred Bhutto Sahib’s politics. Obviously when she decided to be in politics she opted for PPP under the leadership of martyred Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as the means to achieve her higher ideals. And once she joined PPP her talents and organisational capabilities caught Benazir Bhutto’s attention and she was chosen by her for an important role in PPP.
Fauzia became a career woman by working for a commercial leasing as a Marketing Manager between 1993 and 1996 while pursuing her political activities. In recognition of her sterling qualities she was nominated as Member Advisory Council of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in October 1994. She was also nominated as Chairperson of the Information Committee of KMC.Having tested and tried her loyalty the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto nominated her to become the Information Secretary of Women’s Wing of the PPP in Sindh. She proved her mettle by making PPP’s women wing an effective arm of the party.
After the unconstitutional dissolution of the PPP In the general elections in October 2002 Fauzia was nominated by PPP leadership as a candidate for the reserved seats for women in the National Assembly. As MNA she was also made part of Standing Committee on Privatization and Standing Committee on Economic Affairs. In both she performed immensely well. Her contribution was laudable as member of the NA Finance Committee that looked after the budget of the assembly.
Fauzia attended in 2003 the National Defence College course for bringing the politicians and Armed forces close to each other. She made her mark as one of the main initiators of relationship with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and was invited to attend the “Win With Women – Global Initiative” of the Institute in December 2003. In recognition of her services she was also invited in June 2004 by the NDI to attend the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Fauzia also represented PPP on a study tour of the German Parliamentary System in 2004.
During the National Assembly of 2002- 2007, she was a very active member of the opposition involved in legislative business. She was also a mover of a number of bills including a bill on the environment and a ban on polythene bags. She was nominated again for a second term by the PPP and returned to the National Assembly. Because of her communication skills she was appointed PPP’s Information Secretary. As Information Secretary, Fauzia became an ex-officio member of the Central Executive Committee of the Party. She earned appreciation for her defence of the government and leadership.
In her death PPP and Pakistan have lost one of the most dynamic, vociferous and dauntless defenders of democracy and rights of the people. Like of her not born every day.
—The writer the High Commissioner for Pakistan to UK.
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=160961
Fauzia Wahab — a sane voice and holder of progressive values
By Farhad Jarral
Fauzia Wahab had been admitted to Orthopedic Medical Institute Karachi for the past 23 days and was fighting for health after her primary gall bladder surgery. She passed away on Sunday and left her family and many followers alone.
Late Fauzia Wahab was a courageous lady, a democratic voice who fought against extremism, bigotry and was upholder of progressive values. She fought with dictatorship in a way, which many male leaders couldn’t. She was a loving and kind lady and treated every jayala like her own son. I am proud of being her student in politics and learning Pakistani politics from her. She was more like a mother to me, a teacher who always taught lesson of democracy, a guide who always showed the right path and a senior leader who supported me at every platform of the Pakistan People’s Party. She also termed Shaheed Salmaan Taseer’s murder a political murder and she dared to speak the truth, which nobody could do.
I was introduced to Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari by Ma’am Fauzia Wahab when she was at the death anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto at Naudero. Even my first meeting with Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari was organised at Bilawal House, Karachi by Fauzia Wahab.
In a telephonic conversation with MNA Kashmala Tariq after Fauzia’s death, she said that she couldn’t stop her tears. She said she always teased her and opposed her in finance committee meetings of the National Assembly. Though it was totally professional, but I found her a wonderful mother, a true democratic person and a struggling politician.
President Zardari said Fauzia was a steadfast loyalist of the party who braved difficult situations. The democratic voices of Pakistan also termed her demise a big loss for democratic Pakistan.
She was a role model for all the middle-class women of Pakistan who lose strength in tough times. But Fauzia Wahab struggled after her husband Abdul Wahab Siddiqui’s death. The results she got was an accountant Ali Wahab who’s settled in a Gulf country and working on a good post at a bank, Barrister Murtaza Wahab who has done his bar at law from UK and now practicing in Karachi, and a daughter who is married.
It was a time when she was free from family responsibilities and was enjoying time with her family. But time is never ours because every human being has to die one day and it’s a reality, which we believe in. We have lost a sane voice today and we pray to Allah for her forgiveness. Fauzia Wahab will ever be remembered in good words whenever we will talk about a progressive, democrat and a liberal Pakistan.
The writer is a PPP loyalist and can be reached at farhadjarral@criticalppp.com
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C06%5C19%5Cstory_19-6-2012_pg7_35
Fauzia Wahab: a few memoirs
Sabir Shah
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 From Print Edition
It was hot and humid 2010 evening, when the late Fauzia Wahab had invited this scribe over an Iftar dinner at Lahore’s Governor’s House.
While she was fasting, this correspondent found Fauzia sitting on the prayer mat, reading the Holy Quran, going through its literal translation and interpretation with utmost devotion.
“Don’t laugh at me. I am no mullah, but we need to know what Allah has directed us to do. Alas, none of us wishes to believe that we all have to die one day and revert back to the Creator with all our misdeeds,” Fauzia Wahab had remarked while wrapping up the prayer rug shortly before the Maghrib azan.
Tears rolled down her eyes as she discussed the Quranic verses with this relatively ‘ignorant’ guest.
After dinner, she opted to have a long walk around the spacious lawns of the Governor’s House, a building she loved most for its grandeur, architecture and ambiance.
This scribe had a chance to meet Fauzia about half a dozen times during her tours to Lahore. On all these occasions, she was quite perturbed about what she dubbed “media’s harsh stance” against President Asif Zardari.
“Come what may, I will stand by the president always. If he is guilty of any wrongdoing — are all his critics angels? I mean, enough is enough! Your media regularly targets a man who hates to defend himself. Not fair. All guns are pointed towards a single man,” she would opine.
Fauzia was a friend to her children too.
Though she would regularly reprimand her young sons, Ali and Murtaza, out of affection, she was extremely liberal with them as well.
With her untimely death, the waiters at the Governor’s House would also miss this soft-spoken and generous lady politician.
“See, I can do nothing to practically end the miseries in their lives, but the faces of these poor waiters shine when I talk to them about their families. You know they will feel very happy and quote their interaction with me for days. I can give them nothing more than a few good words,” she would turn back to this correspondent and elaborate the reason for her frankness with the waiters.
And yes, all these waiters would stand in a queue, while Fauzia used to pack up before departing for Karachi.
And this was quite a common sight always.
Married twice, the 56-year old Fauzia Wahab had worked for the Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Leasing as a Marketing Manager between 1993 and 1996.
Very few would know, as she had told this scribe herself, Fauzia Wahab had also acted in writer Haseena Moin’s drama serial ‘Kohar’ in 1991 during the life-time of her first husband — the late television anchor Wahab Siddiqui.
When the convoy of the PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto was attacked in Karachi by a suicide bomber on October 18, 2007, she was also aboard the truck carrying her party leader.
She would often recall the terrifying moments when Benazir’s convoy was targeted.
While Fauzia was impressed with her party mate Sharmila Faruqui’s conviction and sincerity for the PPP, she was a fan of the sitting Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira’s logical conversation and polite tone.
“We need more people like them, honestly. They do their homework properly before coming to any television programme,” Fauzia would often assert.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-115300-Fauzia-Wahab-a-few-memoirs
Fauzia Wahab’s death: PMDC to probe ‘medical negligence’
By Sehrish Wasif
Published: June 20, 2012
Council has sent a letter to the hospital asking for the MNA’s medical records.
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on Tuesday constituted a committee to probe allegations of medical negligence causing PPP MNA Fouzia Wahab’s death.
The committee will consist of senior doctors who will ascertain if medical negligence played a role in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader’s death after or during her gallbladder operation in a Karachi hospital.
In a letter dated June 18, the council asked the Orthopaedic and Medical Institute in Karachi to submit a list of all doctors concerned with the case and the degree of their involvement along with a brief summary of the case with relevant records and the role of each doctor during the medical procedures.
Wahab died on Sunday from complications following her primary gall bladder surgery, which led to internal bleeding and serious breathing problems.
“The reply must be accompanied by an attested copy of the PMDC registration certificate of each attending doctor,” said the letter.
PMDC Registrar Dr Ahmed Nadeem Akbar said, “It seems strange that a person with a gallstone would die of septicemia— a life-threatening infection that spreads very quickly through the body. Wahab went into critical condition two weeks after a relatively routine surgery and had been under treatment for the past three weeks.”
Dr Akbar said the surgery was “simple” and “it is difficult to understand how this infection developed”.
He said if the probe committee finds any kind of negligence on the part of any of the doctors who treated her, the PMDC will cancel their license refer the case to a criminal court.
He added that all the medical reports will be properly checked and reports regarding medical negligence would be investigated by a panel of the country’s leading doctors.
He said every year PMDC cancels the licenses of three to four doctors across the country over medical negligence.
“PMDC has been monitoring such cases on regular basis to ensure the safety of patients and negligence, if any, will be dealt with strictly under PMDC rules,” said the doctor. He added that people should report cases of medical negligence to the council to help create a better healthcare system in the country.
The Interior Ministry has also constituted a committee to probe Wahab’s death.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2012.
Fauzia Wahab remembered… By Alfred
20 June, 2012
The sad demise of the PPP MNA Fauzia Wahab is a great loss to her party. An intelligent and bold woman, her services particularly related to her work for human rights are remarkable. When she was head of the Human Rights Cell of PPP, she did a great deal of work for the oppressed and poor belonging to the minorities. She was very vocal in cases of violation of their fundamental rights. She was convinced that the Blasphemy Law has further divided people into Muslims and non-Muslims and she opposed it with all her logical arguments.
After being elected on a reserved seat of women in 2008, she defended the present government on all forums. She became very famous due to her participation in different TV talk shows. With her unique style of talk, she played a role of defender like a soldier, and that later become her identity. Whatever be the case and circumstance, her loyalty with her party has been exemplary. As a party activist, sometimes she adopted an aggressive attitude and paid a price for it but never complained about anything. Her services will be remembered for times to come. Now when she is no more with us, let us pray for her departed soul. May she rest in peace.
DR ALFRED CHARLES Karachi
http://paktribune.com/news/Fauzia-Wahab-remembered-By-Alfred-250794.html
I do not understand his use of words ‘hum’ and “uss’.I he is so cultured to call himself “hum” then why “uss” for her.