THE demise of former Pakistan foreign secretary Najmuddin Shaikh has been mourned not only in Pakistan but also in India by those who knew him professionally and personally. He had all the qualities of a good diplomat: civility, patience, precision and the ability to present his viewpoint calmly and firmly. He also consistently pursued Pakistan`s interests in an enlightened manner. While Najmuddin sahib was in office, I saw some facets of his diplomatic skills during his one interaction in end 1996 in Delhi with his Indian counterpart, the remarkable and erudite, Salman Haidar. I was then heading the Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. Najmuddin sahib retired soon thereafter; hence, it was only 15 years later and onwards that I witnessed the full range of his qualities during Track 2 meetings.

By that time, I too had retired from the Indian Foreign Service.

There may be a public perception that the negative relationship between India and Pakistan completely seeps into the ties between their diplomats. Naturally, diplomats of the two countries are often circumspect and cautious in dealing with each other but generally their approach is professional. They also usually acknowledge and respect each other`s professional skills and qualities. In this they are not unique because globally, professionals, in different fields, often develop a feeling of community and regard which transcends national boundaries.

Sometimes, Indian and Pakistani diplomats are able to develop mutual trust and talk with candour about constraints of their governments.

Often, they convey the substance of these conversations to the highest decision-making levels in the two countries. Diplomatic bonds of trust are especially important when bilateral relations, always difficult, dip further. This does not imply that Indian and Pakistani diplomats do not give objective advice or implement the policies set out by the decision makers in the two countries or, if required, present their views emphatically and strongly to the other side.

Since, I have mentioned constraints of the governments I would like to recall what I was told by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during hisvisit to Lahore in February 1999. I happened to be alone with him and suggested a point which he could convey to prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Vajpayeeji looked at me indulgently and remarked `Uski mushkil bhi samjho`. I have also wondered how Najmuddin sahib would have reacted had he been in office when Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped over in Lahore on Christmas Day of 2015. Would he have made all the institutions in Pakistan comprehend the significance of the signal which Modiji had sent out? Najmuddin sahib had an enduring interest and great understanding of Afghanistan, a country of my interest too. In Track 2 meetings I listened carefully to his remarks on the Afghan situation.He always spoke on a subject after researching and reflecting on it. Indeed, careful study and a sifting of facts on different topics was his forte.

Track 2 meetings got interrupted while the Covid-19 pandemic raged. At that time, I sent him an article that I had written on how quickly the devastating Spanish Flu, which took such an enormous toll of human life worldwide but especially in the Indian subcontinent, went out of popular memory. He wrote back: `I enjoyed reading the article you attached. It was like what you have written earlier, very well researched. It suggests that just as the 1918 Flu was easily forgotten, not only in South Asia but globally, so too will our children or grandchildren forget the havoc Covid-19 has caused.` Naturally, I was happy that he found my article `well researched`.

In early June 2021 when the Delta wave of Covid-19 was exacting a heavy toll I enquired about his welfare. I also added, `The news fromAfghanistan is troubling. I wonder what the future holds.` Responding the next day, he remarked on the Afghan situation, inter alia, `All one can do is hope against hope that the Afghans can agree on a power-sharing arrangement and thus avoid the civil war that is otherwise bound to come in that multi-ethnic country.

Such a war will of course be disastrous for Pakistan but it will not leave the rest of the region unaffected.` While the Afghan Taliban succeeded in establishing full control over the country, thus avoiding the civil war Najmuddin sahib had feared, Pakistan`srelationswith Afghanistan continue to be difficult. Pakistani decision-makers would surely miss his expertise on Afghan affairs as they deal with their western neighbour.

In the 1980s, someone had casually told me that a Pakistani diplomat, Najmuddin Shaikh, was a descendent of Acharya J.B. Kripalani`s brother who had embraced Islam. That intrigued me and the memory remained. Kripalani became an educationist and a devoted follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a prominent member of the Congress Party, including its president in 1946-47. Later, he broke with Jawaharlal Nehru but remained active in public life. In one of my interactions with Najmuddin sahib I broached this subject with him. He responded in the affirmative and said that his grandmother`s father Shaikh Abdal Rahim was Kripalani`s brother. Both were sons of Dewan Bhagwandas Kripalani, a leading member of Hyderabad Sindh`s Amil community. The differing trajectory of the brothers offer insights into the history of South Asia in the first half of the last century.

While researching for this article my attention was drawn to Najmuddin sahib`s grandmother, Ghulam Fatima Sheikh`s fascinating memoir.

She was a great lady whose account of her travels with her husband in West Asia and Turkey for eight years during World War I and later offers a vivid testimony of her powers of observation and understanding of human affairs. Najmuddin sahib had obviously imbibed these; they became the foundations of his diplomatic skills. • The wnter is a retired Indian diplomat.