Shah AMS Kibria: As I knew him

I had the privilege of knowing him since 1953 in the S.M.Hall. He was doing his Masters in Economics at a time when I just entered the Hall and was a student of first year Honours. He had a single room (probably 122) upstairs, reserved for students who would secure First Class in Honours. He did and retained the single room. He was a person with simple life and there was no artificiality in him. You get what you see as a person. He appeared at the Central Superior Service examination and stood first again in all Pakistan. And so also he earned a First Class Masters degree. He joined the Foreign Service in 1954.

The next time I met him was in Islamabad in Foreign Office in 1968. We used to live in the suburb ( Sector F-6/3 , now called Ramna), near Margalla Hills. The suburb had rows of newly built spacious houses with front and backyard. The suburb was designated as "Deputy Para" because a large number of Deputy Secretaries lived there.

Often my wife and I used to meet him and Asma Bhabi in different official and unofficial functions. We, all Bengali-speaking officers, were very close and used to visit socially each other's houses. Kibrias were always decent and hospitable. There were not more than a dozen Bengali officers at the Foreign Office at the time.

Some time in 1969 or early 70, there was a painting exhibition by Asma Bhabi in Islamabad and we were proud that she was able to show paintings with Bangladesh's life and culture. It was a great achievement for Asma Bhabi because West Pakistanis saw how a housewife was so talented. Besides, they were surprised at the liberal attitude of Kibria to encourage and allow his wife to draw and paint. To some of them, painting is a "non-Islamic" thing.

He was transferred from Islamabad to Washington Embassy as a Counsellor in 1970. I recall the day when we saw him and Asma Bhabi off at the Islamabad airport. By the time he had left, Islamabad became an unfriendly place for Bengalis as most of the Pakistanis, in particular the Punjabis, were not well disposed towards us. They felt that one day we would be independent and we would man the future government of Bangladesh.

Then in 1971, Kibria, a Counsellor, did not want to serve Pakistan and owed allegiance to Bangladesh provisional government on 4th August 1971. It was a painfully difficult decision to leave such a secure job with his wife and two children. He did not know how his family would live in a foreign land under such circumstances. But that did deter him to leave the job for Bangladesh.

Later in 1978 I worked with him as a Director General of South Asia while he was Foreign Secretary. He was a good administrator as well as his analytical views on issues were insightful. He was able to distinguish wood from the trees in administration. We spent many hours in Bangabhavan in presenting our views on foreign policy issues to the President.

In my dealings with him, I found Kibria always constructive and helpful. There was no doubt about his fine intellect; it was obvious after even the shortest discussion on any subject. He did not suffer fools in the workplace and as a result many feathers were ruffled. In many respects he was ahead of times. He had his own style and did not always run according to "standard gauge".

In 1983, I met him in Canberra while he was visiting as a UN Undersecretary General /Executive Secretary of ESCAP while I was the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Australia. I invited him to a dinner with other distinguished Australian guests. His talks over the table with the guests reflected his wide-ranging views on many subjects (He had by the way also served as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canberra from 1972-76).

In 1986, I again met him in Bangkok while I was returning to Dhaka Foreign Office as Additional Foreign Secretary from Manila. He was courteous enough to invite me to a lunch at his ESCAP headquarters and we talked about different things including Bangladesh's future. In late 90s I used to meet him every year in Geneva when he used to present ESCAP report to the UN. The contents of the Report were to the point and analytical.

He served the UN with distinction, advancing the debate of the role and future of ESCAP. He reshaped the ESCAP to cope with the exciting but at the same time troubling, set of post-Cold War international realities.

He served his country as a Finance Minister for five years. As a Minister, he was good to conceptualise and implement many programmes including pension for poor old age people. His constituency elected him as MP in 2001.

I met him in Dhaka on 30th December at a seminar on Women Rights at the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs, of which he was an Alternate Chairperson. We again discussed informally many things about life and country before the seminar started He presided over the seminar with efficiency and did not allow any speaker to stray from the subject.

SAMS Kibria was out and out a Bangladeshi. He never pretended to be any other being except his Bengali identity. He loved Tagore songs very much and his social private functions had always the richness and ambience of Bengali characteristics. Wherever he was posted he made an impact through immersing himself and his family in life, culture and language of Bangladesh.

Kibria's specialness goes beyond the respect that his achievements demanded and won. It lay , too, in the very special affection that so many people had for him.

We all mourn his loss and share deep grief with Asma Bhabi and with adult children. May Allah keep his soul rest and peace.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.