By Imtiaz Alam
Khalid Ahmed (21.12.1943-17.11.2024) is “no more”, this is how I got the sad news of his death today. He was my editor at the Frontier Post Lahore and I had learned from him how to be an editorial writer.
He started his career with Pakistan Times, and Viewpoints and worked as an editor in The Nation, The Frontier Post, The Daily Times, South Asian Journal, and The Friday Times. He also worked with the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) for peace in the subcontinent and was one of the leading lights of Track-2 Diplomacy and ran South Asia Media School for two years.
A liberal intellectual par excellence and a man of ‘Words’ and humble manners, he has left behind an unfulfilled agenda of a secular-liberal republic and enlightenment. Khalid Ahmed was the epitome of a liberal-democratic vision and was a consistent pedagogue of enlightenment. I have met top editors in South Asia, but no one compared his scholarship and knowledge.
Nobody else in Pakistan has reviewed as many books as Khalid Ahmad has. His passion for the roots of words and their interconnections across languages was remarkable. He was crazed to look into the depths and mysteries of words and their epistemological connections. On the editorial board, we used to raise issues and have unending debates, with Khalid always enriching the discourse with his encyclopedic knowledge.
He graduated from Government College Lahore and went for higher studies at Moscow State University. He taught English Literature at the Government College Lahore. Then joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan after undertaking a CSS (competitive exam). He worked as a consular Pakistan embassy in Moscow. Married to Dr Dure, he has left behind a son.
Khalid was a prolific writer and wrote thousands of editorials and articles. He authored almost half a dozen books, including ‘Word for Words’, ‘Pakistan Behind the Ideological Mask’ (Facts about Great Men We Don’t want to Know), Sectarian War: Pakistan’s Sunni-Shia Violence, Comparison of ANN Approach and Analytical Approaches and MicroLED devices and systems.
His main focus was on separating the state from religion and liberal values. He thoroughly analyzed sectarianism, terrorism, and religious fanaticism.
He was a dear friend indeed from whom I learned a lot and had differed with him on his Neo-liberalism. He always remained in the company of progressive writers and never deviated from his liberal beliefs.
