Imran's 'chief of staff' Naeemul Haq dies

Naeem ul Haque, one of the senior most members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), has passed away at the age of 70 in Karachi. He had been battling blood cancer for the last two years. A banker and businessman by trade and one of the co-founders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Naeem was instrumental in promoting positive change in Pakistan as part of the party's ideology.

Born on July 11, 1949 in Karachi, Naeem completed his M.A. in English Literature from University of Karachi (1970) and then pursued LLB from Sindh Muslim Law College Karachi (1971). He practiced law with the late Khalid Ishaq before joining Jamil Nishtar's team at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). As a young banker, he was part of the team that established the NBP branch at UN Plaza in New York City, after which he moved to London in 1980 as a merchant banker for Oriental Credit Limited.

Naeem had 35 years' of cumulative experience in banking, finance, corporate sector and law in Pakistan, London and New York. During his career, he also served as an Advisor/Managing Director of Aero Asia Airlines, Chairman & CEO Metropolitan Steel Corpand Managing Director, Credit & Leasing Corporation.

During his professional stint in London in early 1980s, he became close friends with Imran Khan, who used to play county cricket at that time. Imran would frequently visit Naeem and his wife, Nazli Jamil ("Nazo"). Naeem and Imran Khan became especially close friends when the latter developed a debilitating stress fracture in 1983, and Naeem famously gave his exercise bike for Imran's recuperation.

Naeem was driven by the purpose to serve Pakistan and believed that positive change could only be brought about in the country through a democratic, political system. In 1984, he joined Air Marshal Asghar Khan's Tehreek Istiqlal party in London and moved back to Karachi a couple of years later to set up his leasing company business and pursue political aspirations.

In the post-Zia ul Haq era, he contested the 1988 elections from Tehreek Istiqlal's ticket in Orangi Town. Even though he lost the election, he continued his interest in politics and kept abreast of economic related matters.

In 1996, he became one of the five founding members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) along with his close friend Imran Khan. As a trusted aide, he helped Imran Khan manage the party affairs and overcome the electoral setbacks of 1997 and 2001. After the death of his wife in 2008 from a bout of cancer, Naeem fully devoted his life to PTI, where he became the Central Information Secretary and President of Sindh. He is credited with organizing the huge December 25, 2011 jalsa in Karachi that helped establish PTI's popularity as a national party.

In 2012, Naeem moved to Islamabad as Chief of Staff to the PTI Chairman and an integral part of the PTI Core Committee leading into the elections of both 2013 and 2018. He worked extremely hard and directly with Imran Khan in organizing the party at the grass roots. He also intermittently served as the Information secretary of the party during this period playing an important part in the party's communication strategy.

In January 2018 eight months before the general elections, Naeem was diagnosed with blood cancer. Like a true party loyalist, he soldiered on, working long hours prior to the elections while undergoing treatment. Never one to shirk from important causes and managing people and operations, he remained at the forefront.

As member of the PTI core committee he was an accessible, approachable and was popular among the workers. When the 2018 victory finally came to PTI, he was appointed a Special Assistant on Political Affairs to the PM and was involved in a number of initiatives ranging from housing scheme, party operations, SDGs and appointments to name a few.

An honest man, he cared for ordinary people, the future of PTI and a progressive Pakistan, where the underprivileged have an equal chance to prosper. When Imran Khan retired from cricket in 1992, having won Pakistan, its only cricket World Cup, politics was last thing on his mind.

It was his old friend Naeem ul Haq, a banker with politics in his genes, who kept prompting him to join politics. Finally on 25 April, 1996 in Lahore few friends of Khan got together to found Pakistan Tehrik Insaaf, they included Naeem ul Haq, Ahsan Rasheed, Mahmood Awan, Mowhahid Husain, Hafeez Khan and Nowsherwan Burki. However, of these founders only Naeem Ul Haque stood beside Imran Khan to lead P.T.I. to victory in general elections of 25 July, 2018.

In 2012, Imran Khan asked Naeem ul Haque to move to Islamabad, which he did. First living with Khan then moving to a rented house in Banigala. Never one for lofty titles, he installed himself Chief of Staff to the P.T.I. Chairman, and started building the party infrastructure. He went about setting up the basic organizational set up of the party and helped wrote its constitution and manifesto.

PTI in that period was attracting lots of workers and political heavy weights; it was he who kept the balance between new and the old guard of the party. Always accessible, honest with a smile on his face, he is the favorite of PTI workers, but it was his organizational ability which helped PTI gain over 7.6 million votes in 2013 elections. But the establishment of that day, conspired to deny PTI its proper share of elected seats.

On 14 August, 2014 came the most successful dharna of Pakistan politics. While Imran Khan stood on the container and hogged the political limelight, it was Naeem who organized the show. There was a stream of volunteers who were duly registered and became part of PTI regional set ups. Many perceive Dharna as a political failure, but according to Naeem it turned PTI from an ordinary political party to a political behemoth, with a huge volunteer base.

He stood in front of the political battles over the corruption of PML-N and PPP, which primed PTI for the 2018 elections. Political rivalries always raged within the PTI, Imran Khan always used Naeem as firefighter to douse these battles, he always stood in front of all the controversies that party or Khan faced, both political and personal, going around in 13 years old Corolla. A principled man, he declined to accept a senate seat from KPK, in a country where politicians change colors like chameleon.

But in early 2018, Naeem was diagnosed with cancer, he has faced the disease with dignity. Never one to shirk from a fight, he remained at the forefront political battles of 2018, despite the illness.

As member PTI core committee awarding tickets, he was the most accessible, most popular among its workers. An honest man, he stood up against the outside interference in awarding tickets for the election, defending the right of party workers.

When the victory finally came to PTI, he never sought the lofty titles, on which many of the new comers now sit, he choose to remain just a Special Assistant to his old friend the Prime Minister. Yet he the remained the one will try settle most of crisis, within this government. He never sought or benefited from the government largesse, but helped convert PTI and its leader into a political icon.