What’s in a name? A road to fame!

ISLAMABAD has undergone major transformation in the last few years with the construction of a new road network that has, to a large extent, changed the capital’s landscape.

As well as ease the traffic blues, these carpeted avenues have added to the glitter of what is decidedly, the best planned city in Pakistan and one of the world’s most picturesque capitals.

More recently, two avenues have linked up the entire capital, one of them running directly into twin Rawalpindi as well.

However, not everyone is happy about the christening of the Ninth Avenue. It has been named after former foreign minister Agha Shahi. No-one knows for sure what criteria was employed to make a national recall for Shahi.

Questions have been raised if the honour bestowed on Shahi was not for mere longevity of service. Some have defended Shahi’s term as a bright period for the usually staid Foreign Office and others, who agreed that imposing his name was a questionable move.

The mandarins of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) have never really made an effort to enlighten the denizens of Islamabad on how they determine which road, street, flyover, underpass or a roundabout is named after whom and why.

Perhaps, it is just the nature of the beast: In Islamabad, secrecy is the standard operating procedure, which leads to a deliberate state of inertia to offset any criticism.

In countries, which espouse the virtues of open debate as well as accountability, public avenues cannot be named on whim or personal like. It would make sense for a representative council or committee of citizens to have a say in these matters.

If the CDA’s idea was to name the avenue strictly after a foreign minister, there were certainly candidates more deserving than the long serving Shahi even amongst those still living.

However, presuming that we usually take to honouring people only posthumously, there was and still is a strong case for more illustrious names.

For instance, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dwarfs most of them even purely as a foreign minister — one of the most distinguished foreign ministers Pakistan has had.

Both times in his stint as foreign minister from 1963-1966 and then 1971-1977 (during which time, as President and then PM, he retained the Foreign Ministry before eventually appointing Aziz Ahmed), Bhutto emerged as the architect of a truly independent foreign policy, which, in the first instance, led to his falling out with military ruler Ayub Khan.

Space constraints do not permit to recount his achievements as even foreign minister but since he overgrew that role to become a giant leader, he deserves a trite more than just naming an avenue after him in the city of bureaucrats.

Therefore, two well-rounded candidates emerge: Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, the country’s first foreign minister, and Aziz Ahmed (not to be confused with the last Pakistani envoy to New Delhi).

Both served with distinction well before they were given the highest office in the Foreign Ministry. But a comparison would perhaps, be unfair, given the knighted Zafrullah’s highly distinguished career and role as author of the newborn state’s foreign policy.

Picked by the Father of the Nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Zafrullah had already made his presence felt by forcefully arguing the case of Muslims in 1947 before the Radcliffe Boundary Commission — at Mr Jinnah’s instance. In October of the same year, he represented Pakistan at the UN General Assembly and advocated the Muslim world’s stand on the Palestinian issue.

He showed his mettle in the seven years he remained the custodian of foreign policy with a flourish for even international issues that raised Pakistan’s profile.

Zafrullah’s efforts materialised into the UN resolutions on Kashmir, which are the basis of the Pakistan’s case and grievance.

Later, he became the first Asian president of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. He also served briefly as the President of the UN General Assembly.

Aziz Ahmed, on the other hand, is credited with building strong ties with the US that characterized the Eisenhower and Kennedy Administrations of the Sixties. He gained prominence following the 1965 war with India and his vocal opposition to the Tashkent Declaration. Called out of retirement by Bhutto, he later played a key role in negotiating the famous Simla Agreement.

Among others, Liaquat Ali Khan (more renowned as the first prime minister), Feroze Khan Noon (post-Independence), Gohar Ayub (N-blasts) and Khurshid Kasuri (post 9/11) also served as FMs at turning points in our history but not necessarily, with any discerning acclaim.

In a nutshell, Sir Zafrullah and Aziz Ahmed had better credentials for riding the Ninth Avenue.

The writer is News Editor at Dawn News. He may be contacted at kaamyabi@gmail.com