US Presidential Election 2020: When Pakistani Bashir Sarban became the guest of US Vice President
That was exactly 59 years ago.
On May 20, 1961, the then Vice President of the United States, London B. Johnson, arrived in Karachi on a visit to Pakistan. His convoy was heading towards the Presidency from the airport on Drug Road (now Shara Faisal). There was a crowd of people on the side of the road welcoming him.
Johnson, keeping all diplomatic and security etiquette at bay, stopped his car several times on the way and got out of the car, shook hands with the people and spoke cheerfully.
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He suddenly saw a camel car near Drug Road railway station. He stopped his convoy and got out of the car and went straight to the owner of the car named Bashir Ahmed without taking any precautionary measures. He spoke to her freely with the help of a spokesman.
The camel cart was loaded with straw. Asked by London B. Johnson, Bashir Ahmed told him that it was cattle fodder and that his camel was five years old. Bashir Ahmed also told Johnson that he affectionately calls his camel 'Ghazi'.
Johnson was delighted with Bashir Ahmed's simplicity and asked him if we were friends from today and would he like to come to the United States to meet his new friend.
Bashir Ahmed replied, "Why not, why not." Of course, of course. Thank you, thank you. ”He could say nothing more than these words. Everyone laughed at that. Johnson gave Bashir a beautiful ballpoint pen as a gift.
Bashir Ahmed may have forgotten this accidental meeting with the US Vice President but the next day all Pakistani newspapers had beautiful pictures of him. Overnight he became a great man of Pakistan. A few days later, Ibrahim Jalis, a well-known columnist in the daily Jang, Karachi, mentioned the incident in his column "Etc. Etc." and praised London B. Johnson's move.
The US embassy sent a translation of the column to London B. Johnson, who had arrived in the United States. After reading this column, London B. Johnson remembered the camel cart of Karachi and the invitation given to him.
London B. Johnson immediately sent an official invitation to Bashir Ahmed to come to the United States. Newspapers, US embassy staff, tourists and spectators all stormed his dilapidated hut in Landhi.
Bashir Ahmed had been living in the hut since he left his home in Bar Bareilly and came to Pakistan. Bashir Ahmed, after receiving an invitation from the US Vice President, became confused as he dug wells and drank water every day. If he left for the US, how would his children survive?
The US embassy resolved the issue by arranging for Rs 25 a day to be paid to his children in Bashir Ahmed's absence. Satisfied with this, Bashir Ahmed started preparations for his memorable journey.
Meanwhile, when the news broke in the American media, Reader's Digest offered to host Bashir Ahmed in the United States, and after going through the passport and visa process, Bashir Ahmed left for the United States on October 14, 1961. gone.
Before leaving for the trip, the government of Pakistan paid special attention to Bashir Ahmed's clothes and presented him with three sherwanis and a Jinnah cape so that she could look like a dignified Pakistani when she arrived in the United States. The government also presented him with some presents for London B. Johnson.
When Bashir Ahmed left for the United States, US Ambassador William M. Reuter came to drop him off at the steps of the plane. The American airline Pan Am made him travel to the United States in first class. Arranged special Pakistani food for them and made an Urdu speaking Pakistani with them so that their journey could be cut short easily.
Bashir Ahmed, a camel driver, now known as Bashir Sarban, arrived in the United States via London. In both London and New York, Bashir Sarban was given the official guest protocol. Among those who received him in the United States was Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Aziz Ahmed.
Bashir Ahmed's visit lasted about two weeks. Vice President Johnson renewed his meeting with him. Johnson looked at Bashir Ahmed and said to him, "It's a pity that the weather is bad here today and the winds are blowing." Bashir Ahmed, with the help of a spokesman, replied very calmly, " It's hot, cold winds don't do anything. '
Bashir Ahmed was accommodated at the Waldroof Storia Hotel in New York and taken on a tour of the United Nations headquarters and the Empire State Building. He also met Harry S. Truman, a former president of the United States, who was very happy to meet Bashir Ahmed.
When the American media got the news of Bashir Sarban's arrival in the United States, they considered it an interesting event and they reserved their comedians for the coverage of Bashir Sarban's visit. But during the visit, Bashir Sarban, who was illiterate at all, impressed the American media with his witty remarks.
On the memorial of Abraham Lincoln, Bashir Ahmed said, "When a person sacrifices his life for his country and the country appreciates his services, a memorial is made which will last till the Day of Judgment." After watching, Bashir Ahmed said, "When a lot of people try to solve a problem together, the solution is better. One brain can make mistakes, but when thousands of brains work together, the chances of making mistakes are slim.
He looked at a girl in the audience and said, "Daughter's example is the same in the house as in the spring season." He was asked, "What kind of animal is a camel?" "The example of the camel is like that of a woman who has no idea what her next step will be."
"Everywhere you look today, the tide of protectionist sentiment is flowing.
Time magazine wrote that "Bashir Ahmed used the C-Ban of a Mughal prince to deal with the people and journalists." Saeed Khan, Bashir Ahmed's spokesman, said: It was difficult to translate.
Bashir Ahmed received many gifts from various US organizations, including a truck donated by the Ford Company, which was painted white and green to match the Pakistani flag. London B. Johnson also presented a sports bicycle as a gift to Bashir Sarban's son.
Johnson also presented Bashir Ahmed with a golden alarm clock in his hand which Bashir liked very much. At the end of the trip, London B. Johnson offered to perform Umrah on Bashir Sarban. Bashir Sarban was shocked by London B. Johnson's offer and accepted the US Vice President's offer.
A few months later, in March 1962, Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of the US President, and her sister Raziwal paid a goodwill visit to Pakistan. His visit started from Lahore on March 21, 1962 where he received a warm welcome.
On the last leg of the tour, she arrived in Karachi on March 25, 1962. On the same day, he met Bashir Sarban, a friend of US Vice President London B. Johnson, at the Presidency in Karachi. On this occasion, Bashir Sarban introduced Mrs. Kennedy to his wife and children and invited them for a ride on his camel Ghazi.
Mrs. Kennedy gladly accepted the invitation and rode Bashir's camel with her sister on the lawn of the Presidency for five minutes. Mrs. Kennedy was delighted with the ride and took several pictures with the camel.
When Zia Mohi-ud-Din started his popular show on Pakistan Television in 1971, he also invited Bashir Sarban to the program. When he asked Bashir Sarban why he had stopped driving camels after returning to Pakistan, Bashir Sarban replied bluntly that Johnson had told him to go back to Pakistan and take care of my position.
After the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, London B. Johnson became President of the United States, a position he held until 1968. When London B. Johnson died on January 22, 1973, the media remembered Bashir Sarban once again. He was invited to the US Consulate in Karachi where he expressed his views in a condolence book on the death of London B. Johnson.
After that, Bashir Sarban was once again lost in the darkness of poverty and anonymity, and when he passed away on August 14, 1992, many people did not even remember that the news and pictures of this anonymous person were ever published in newspapers around the world. I adorned the front page.
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