Four former high commissioners of Pakistan to India on Thursday paid a joint tribute to well known author, journalist and historian Khushwant Singh, who passed away on March 20 this year, aged 99.
In their tribute, former high commissioners Humayun Khan, Riaz Khokhar, Asraf Jehangir Qazi and Aziz Ahmad Khan said: "We, the undersigned, have all had the privilege of serving as Pakistan's envoys in New Delhi, and we would like to add our tribute to the late Sardar Khushwant Singh to those which have flowed in from all over the world."
"We have a special reason to do so because, among the many things he will be remembered for, was his love for Pakistan, the land of his birth. Khushwant was a larger than life character. Historian, scholar, journalist, wit and bon vivant, he enriched our lives with his writings and , above all, with his friendship."
"He relished his privacy, but his doors were always open to visitors from Pakistan. In his later years, he avoided public occasions, but always found time to spend an evening at our embassy, provided we followed his strict adherence to time,which enabled him to go home early. He was not only rational about Indo-Pak relations, but genuinely emotional. He took pride in having Pakistanis as his best friends."
"Because of this, we were able to enjoy, in addition to his wit and his wisdom, his fraternal affection. In remembering this great man, we must all continue to strive for the ideals he promoted and the courage, the humour and the total lack of hypocrisy that he always displayed.
