I never ever dwelt on his incisive reports, nor on his interactive approach on matters pertaining to journalism but on our debates which invariably began amicably and nine times out of ten ended within the range of mild disagreement to full blown acrimony.
But irrespective of which end of the spectrum they ended, I will remember them always very fondly because Arshad Zuberi is the only person I have ever known who never ever allowed a difference of opinion to fester and last longer than the end of the conversation.
Our decades-long association can perhaps be summarised best as a difference of opinion between the value of education versus that of experience: he had experience in economic journalism, his degree was in engineering which, with my mathematically challenged mind I could never ever have cleared even freshman year, while I had a degree in economics.
And while I never ever conceded during his lifetime that his experience allowed him to report far more pungently than my education allowed me yet, without any reservations, I wholeheartedly concede that his experience has left an indelible mark on the profession he so loved; and on me. I readily accept that in spite of my degree he was infinitely more knowledgeable about matters pertaining to the country’s banking sector – State Bank as well as commercial banks – nationalised and privately owned.
Arshad Zuberi was a perennial optimist and invariably entertained high expectations whenever a new administration took over control in the centre. His disappointment at the end of its tenure, be it after completion of a mandated tenure or a dismissal as has more often than not been the case in this country, invariably left him deeply troubled.
But he never ever allowed despondency to suppress his natural optimism for long and would, whenever invited to provide his input, proactively engage in government-established committees and unreservedly shared his invaluable experience as to the best way forward – an input that is still available but gathering dust in the cupboards of several ministries.
One can only hope that the incumbent Finance Minister Muhammad Aurengzeb directs the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to take out the report prepared under the auspices of the Tax Reforms Coordination Group of which Arshad Zuberi was a vibrant member, and implement those measures which would be more implementable than the ones under consideration today.
With his editorial team he would carefully listen to different views than his own but as long as two ingredients were present he unhesitatingly gave his approval: impeccable logic backed by either empirical data or theory – economic/international relations/social sectors. I will always be grateful to him for giving me this editorial writing tip for it has enabled me to analyse government data and associated analysis without the prism of any bias.
I vividly recall Arshad Zuberi’s last visit to the newspaper’s Islamabad office. He had become physically frail but his mind was as sharp as ever and we, as was our wont, engaged in a vibrant debate in which his optimism about the new government delivering to the general public was palpable. The Islamabad office team’s view was cynical but Arshad Zuberi epitomized Desmond Tutu’s wise advice: hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.
With your departure we can at present see only darkness and hope that in time we will be able to catch sight of infinite hope that you embodied.
(The writer is newspaper’s Islamabad-based Resident Editor)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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