KARACHI: The heavily attended launch of S.R. Ghauri`s collection of columns, Let the People Judge, at the K arachi Press Club on Wednesday was an insightful journey into the late journalist`s trajectory, from his early years as a reporter, to his rise to editor of Morning News, moving on to become a highly regarded columnist at Dawn, and editor of the monthly Herald.

Ghauri sahib`s integrity and respect as a man who stood behind his written word, regardless of the criticism he faced, was lauded by all at the book launch. Apart from his achievements as a journalist, his humanistic qualities were also talked about in detail and a more holistic view of the man made possible by these admissions.

In his keynote address, retired Justice Dr Ghous Muhammad spoke about the time he met Ghauri sahib back in 2011 where the idea to compile his columns was brought up by the veteran journalist himself.`I went to meet Ghauri sahib in San Francisco where he had settled with his family and it was then when he handed me his columns and asked me to compile them in book form.

However, Ghauri sahib passed away a year later and did not get to witness the launch of his book.

Although he wrote on many important topics during the course of his career, Dr Ghous felt that the ones on martial law deserved the most importance, especially with the political instability in the country overwhelming all other matters.

`I believe where there is law there is no martial law, and where there is martial law, there is no law,` said Dr Ghous.

`So I decided to publish Ghauri sahib`s columns on martial law first; there are enough columns for a second and third volume,` he added.

Sindh Information Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro was the chief guest at the book launch, despite reservations by many in the audience.

Mr Khuhro spoke about the dwindling culture of reading books, and lamented how Pakistan did not have many librar-ies to boast of.

`As the written word is part of history, we must read it carefully to understand its lessons. We need to be able to scrutinise the weaknesses of the state, and the mistakes made in the past so that we do not repeat them again,` he said.

He appreciated the ef forts of the Royal Book Company for publishing books by leading intellectuals in Pakistan, including of S.R. Ghauri, who had greatly contributed towards shaping the country through their discourse.

`The written word is eternal and many voices of poets, writers and journalists expressed themselves openly despite heavy restriction and censorship. And Ghauri sahib was one such voice,` he said.

Zabe Azkar Hussain, secretary of the Adbi Committee of the Karachi Press Club, also praised Ghauri sahib as a proponent of peace and harmony, who believed in non-violence and in the tenets of democracy. He spoke about the humble life that Ghauri sahib led, and that he was principled to a fault.

`It is clearly visible that these valueshave been lost in today`s era, and we have become too pragmatic. This is whyit is important we understand the message behind the writings of Ghauri sahib who was involved in the struggle for human rights,` he said.

It was an interesting addition to the launch when Dr Ghous read out a short passage in which Ghauri sahib had expressed his views about the columns he wrote: `Writing columns for Dawn was a unique experience. Most were written in a silence enveloping Pakistan.

It was terrifying. Hardly anyone would speak against martial law and other arbitrary laws. In the beginning I was in good company but soon my companions were effectively muzzled, shut up or bought.

Every column written by S.R. Ghauri was, according to him, `a reaction to the events of the week and in this country, much of what was written in 1972-3 is true even today`.

Unfortunately, this is still a disappointing reality for Pakistan in the 21st century.

S.R. Ghauri, apart from working at different newspapers and magazines in Pakistan, was also the correspondent for The Guardian and The Economist.