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The Times
of Karachi
Editorial
Sunday, December 7, 1958
A.S. Bokhari
 We mourn the death of Professor
Ahmed Shah Bokhari, scholar, diplomat and a gentleman of great and dignified
distinction. With his passing, the world sustains a loss that will be hard to
bear. Professor Bokhari was a man of eminence. He touched nothing he did not
adorn. The rich and eloquent tributes that have poured in testify to his
versatility and to his capacity for influencing people and organizations
profoundly. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Dag Hamarskjoeld
in his statement speaks of him as a man whose influence will long be felt.
“He carried the dual heritage of Eastern and Western civilization. This gave
him an unusual approach to those problems of our time with which the United
Nations has to deal,” the United Nations chief has said. The delegate from El
Salvador has called Professor Bokhari’s death “a great loss for the United
Nations” while Mr. Arthur Lall of India whose adversary Professor Bokhari had
been in many debates, in a moving tribute says “the world will be poorer for his
death.” These are handsome tributes amply deserved by one who served Pakistan
well and who, even in ill-health, strove relentlessly to give to the United
Nations a shape and a form that would enable it to endure. Galleries used to be
full when Professor Bokhari would speak at the United Nations. His superb
understanding of issues, his wit and charm endeared him to other delegates and
all the world was his audience. He fought fiercely for the right of
self-determination of the Afro-Asian people and championed their cause.
As a scholar and a writer, Professor Bokhari’s contribution to learning and
human understanding was great. He was a brilliant satirist and he played a big
part in the progress of present day Urdu literature. He was a leading figure
and the Vice President of the P.E.N. in Pakistan.
We offer to his family our heartfelt condolences and share, with the people of
Pakistan, in this great sorrow. |
