Ali Mohammad Siddiqi was born in 1944 in Hyderabad Deccan, India. He migrated to Pakistan in 1949 via a ship through Bombay. Though he was very young during his time in the city of his birth, he does recall Quaid-e-Azam coming to Hyderabad Deccan as part of the Pakistan Movement.
After initially settling in Karachi, he studied in a convent in Peshawar till Class 1. Here, he remembers the administration halved his tuition fee because he was a mohajir. Sentiments for mohajirs were high at this time.
Generally, he had fond memories from his time in the Frontier Region. For instance, he recalled how the Pathans of the Khyber Pass area were very happy to see him and his family when they visited the famous mountain pass. This was also because he was a mohajir. Since Abbotabad was not too far from Peshawar, he went to the Garrison town to witness a passing out parade attended by Liaquat Ali Khan and Raja Aziz Bhatti. Additionally, he saw Liaquat Ali Khan and the Shah of Iran in an open-top car.
After coming back to Karachi in 1952, he continued his education that was completed in 1967 via a BA Degree from SM College. Mr. Siddiqi recalls SM College as being very good. He also recalls a famous incident from 1952 when his father – Mehdi Ali Siddiqi, a magistrate- stopped Khawaja Nazimuddin for a traffic violation. Rather than using his power as Prime Minister to challenge the fine, Mr. Nazimuddin appreciated the honesty and upholding of the law.
Our interviewee also recalled the student protests in Karachi of 1953. He recalls the car of Minister Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani was burnt near Paradise Cinema and prominent student activists at the time included Dr Rehmani, Dr Adeeb Rizvi and Dr Haroon.
When Malik Ghulam Muhammad was Governor-General of Pakistan, he remembers King Faisal II of Iraq coming on a visit. He got the opportunity to meet the king.
Text and pic by CAP
Published in Daily Times, June 21st, 2017.
