ISLAMABAD: Enver Baig, an outspoken politician and a former senator, passed away at a hospital here on Friday after a protracted illness.

He was 77.

“My father is lucky as Allah has called him in the holy month of Ram­azan, on Jumatul Wida, and at the time of Juma pra­yers. I pray for him to be granted the highest ranks in Jannah just like he got the most auspicious day to leave this world,” his eldest son Najeeb Baig told Dawn in a sombre voice.

After spending more than a decade in the PPP, he parted ways with the party in August 2011. Mr Baig, who was once very close to Benazir Bhutto, used to tell his friends that after Ms Bhutto’s tragic death, he was finding it difficult to stay in the party as he was not in the good books of the new leadership, mainly because of his straightforward attitude and bold stance on national issues.

In 2012, he joined PML-N, but did not apply for a Senate ticket, fearing there could be resistance within the party as he was a newcomer. However, when PML-N came to power after the 2013 polls, he was appointed chairman of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

Although Mr Baig had developed a good rapport with Nawaz Sharif, other senior leaders never really accepted him in the party.

After serving the BISP for almost a year, Mr Baig resigned, reportedly after developing some differences with a key minister.

Later, he was appointed chairman of the Pakistan Industrial Development Corpor­ation, but according to one of his friends, journalist Rauf Klasra, he did not attend the office for a single day.

Another close friend of Mr Baig’s, Wasim Haqqi, told Dawn he was born in Karachi in 1945, and that his father passed away while he was still a young man.

“Enver joined his grandfather’s business of manpower export — M/s Jan Muhammad and Brothers — and remained associated with it till he breathed his last. He was very close friend of veteran PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Faheem, who had introduced him to Ms Bhutto.”

On the day Ms Bhutto was assassinated, Enver Baig was in Lahore owing to his son’s wedding. Although, he was not ready to leave Rawalpindi as there was a public meeting on that day, Benazir Bhutto herself suggested he should go to Lahore and attend his son’s wedding, Mr Haqqi recalled.

Former Senator Farhatullah Babar termed Mr Baig “an outspoken senator, a highly successful businessman, a sports lover and above all a very fine human being”.

“In the Senate, he spoke on issues with great clarity and conviction and always seemed well-prepared,” said Mr Babar.

Mr Baig was fond of throwing parties, which made his home a hub of social and political gatherings. As a sport lover, he was keen that sports bodies were governed only by their constitutions and not on personal whims.

In 2007, Mr Baig asked the Public Accounts Committee to audit the PCB and in 2009, he accused the Pakistan cricket players of being involved in match fixing.

Mr Babar recalled that once Mr Baig moved a privilege motion against the then-chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board when the latter made some remarks in response to criticism of the PCB’s failure in finalising its constitution.

Mr Babar stated that even after leaving the PPP and joining a rival political party, Mr Baig never spoke ill about his old party’s leadership and always wore a smile.

Mr Baig also served as the honorary consul general of Republic of Uruguay as well as president of the Pakistan Overseas Employment Promoters Association. He headed the Senate Standing Committee on Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis and the FPCCI’s Standing Committee on Diplomatic Affairs.

Mr Baig is survived by his widow, Ayesha Enver Baig and seven children — Najeeb, Ambreen, Nosheen, Naveen, Sameer, Issam and Adnan.

He will be laid to rest at the H-11 Graveyard on Saturday (today) at 2pm.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2023