A virtual condolence reference has been organized by the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi in memory of renowned human rights activist and well-known journalist IA Rehman. The speakers included Anis Haroon, Mazhar Abbas, Dr. Tauseef Ahmed Khan, Haris Khaliq, Maneza Jahangir from Lahore, and Javed Naqvi from Delhi.
On this occasion, the President of Arts Council Muhammad Ahmad Shah said in his opening remarks “It was bad news for us that I. A Rehman is no longer with us, he made a great journey with valuable services in journalism, he was a human rights activist who fought for justice. He used to participate in conferences. Besides all the difficulties in his work life, he lived his life to the fullest. “This is a personal loss to the Arts Council Karachi and we organized this event to pay tribute to him” he added.
Anis Haroon said that it is very difficult to describe the personality of I. A Rehman in words. He was a vast ocean he used to speak with references, he always looked optimistic, the power of positive thinking was evident in him. Senior Analyst & journalist Mazhar Abbas said that in the early struggle of my career, I got connected to IA Rehman. He was a man of his pen. The legacy of any great man is his work. I. A Rehman was lucky in the sense that journalism was good at that time. We should celebrate the work he has done. His article was published in Dawn three days before his death and this is commendable. He was a complete writer, humanist, and journalist, he never denied it.
Haris Khaliq said that IA Rehman’s personality was multi-faceted, he wrote many book prefaces, worked hard for literature, journalism, and the labor movement, Ajo’s theater was always close to his heart and he himself has been a director for some time. However, in this situation of grief, many references are being held in the honor of I. A Rehman. He always guided his juniors and subordinators with love and affection.
Munizae Jahangir said “He was an intellectual for the world, but he was a lively family man who had the spark in his eyes. He was connected with every generation from adults to kids he used to involve everyone and he always respected other’s opinions” From Delhi, Literary person Javed Naqvi was virtually connected in his speech he said “I. A Rehman always tried to improve the relations between Pakistan and India he spread the message of peace and love, the way he used to speak the truth in simple and fine words was his identity, we lost a gentleman.
Dr. Tauseef Ahmed Khan said that Rehman’s father had great terms with Anees Hashmi, the issue of progress actually began there. Rehman went to Aligarh, he appeared for CSS exams and got cleared. Later, he got involved in journalism. He never took the threads seriously besides all the personal conflicts he spread love and peace he believed that carnage and bloodshed can be stopped only by building the good relations between India and Pakistan.
