Ambassador M M Rezaul Karim
Rezaul Karim had a brilliant career and I knew him and his charming, friendly wife in the beginning of his career in the late fifties. That friendship stood the test of time and we never had any disagreement. During the War of Liberation he was posted in the Pakistan High Commission in London and had no hesitation to join the great effort mounted throughout the world for the propagation abroad of the cause of our Liberation under the inspiring leadership of late Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury. Rezaul Karim was the first official of Free Bangladesh to receive in London the great leader of Bangladesh Independence Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his release from Pakistan jail. That was rightly the great event of his life and he took great pride in this. This also became a topic of sotto voce criticism of Rezaul Karim in the BNP circles where the name Bangabandhu was anathema. Thus for more than a decade Rezaul Karim rendered untiring service to Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia but was not rewarded as such. Just a couple of months ago, he was offered the Ambassadorship of Cairo. We, his friends and colleagues, felt humiliated that a person, who had served in such high posts as Head of Mission, London, Beijing and Moscow, should be offered Cairo.
Among other things that we shared was that we became columnists of our favourite daily The Daily Star. We have shared many joys and some sorrows. Most of all what will stand out is that here was a man, who could truly say that he had only friends.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. My wife and I offer our deepest condolences to dear Salma, her children, with whom we have unbreakable ties.