By Dr. Maqsood Jafri
A recent post by PPP Lahore Official on Senator Hanif Ramay, former Chief Minister and Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, took me back to the Islamabad of the 1980s and 1990s. He lived in Lahre. Whenever, he visited Islamabad, he would often stay with Sheikh Ramzan or with Iqbal Majid. We were all close friends. Hanif Ramay was more than a politician, he was a powerful orator and a serious scholar. His book “پنجاب کا مقدمہ” ( The Case for Punjab)remains one of the most authentic treatises on Punjab’s history, identity, and politics.
We spent hours discussing politics, philosophy, and literature, whenever he was in Islamabad. He gave the PPP manifesto its revolutionary tone. It is said that he gave these four slogans to people approved by Mr. Bhutto which became the sole and primary manifesto of PPP. Islam is our Religion; Democracy is our Politics; Socialism is our Economy; People are the Source of Power. He was a revolutionary thinker. He was a very courageous and humble person. When he talked, he captivated and mesmerized the audience. He was very close to Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and a devoted admirer of Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. A Muslim socialist at heart, his politics was guided by justice, equality, and service.
Mr. Bhutto trusted him for his wisdom, sincerity, and commitment. Coming from a modest, lower-middle-class background and rising to the top, he drew the ire of the feudal elite. Ghulam Mustafa Khar was his chief political rival, because men like Mustafa Khar could not accept a common man at the centre of power. As he openly and vehemently opposed feudal system and in his writings and speeches, quoted from the Holy Quran and the poetry of Dr. Allama Iqbal the rejection of feudalism, the elites and feudal lords maneuvered to damage him politically.
Eventually, this man of principle left the PPP and formed the “ Pakistan Masawat Party”. It did not succeed.
After Shaheed Bhutto’s martyrdom, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, acknowledging his contributions, invited him to return. He came from Lahore to Rawalpindi and stayed at Iqbal Majid’s house in Satellite Town, Rawalpindi. He called me over for dinner and sought my advice. I told him plainly: rejoin the PPP at once and strengthen Ms. Benazir’s hands as after the assassination of her father, she needs the assistance and patronage of men like you. She needed intellectuals who had stood with her father.
After three hours of conversation, he decided to rejoin PPP. The next day he met Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in the Prime Minister’s Office and joined PPP. He was later elected to the Punjab Assembly and served with distinction as its Speaker.
At the time, I was Adviser to the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan. Dr. Khaliq , Chairman of the Philosophy Department at Punjab University, invited me to address the students of Philosophy. After the lecture, I phoned Hanif Ramay, I was heading back to Islamabad. He insisted, I come to the Assembly Chamber for lunch. We met, talked at length, and discussed the Kashmir issue. He was very much interested and involved about the future of Kashmiris and believed in the stance that Kashmir is the life line of Pakistan. He admired my deeply rooted commitment to Pakistan ideology and accession of Kashmir to Pakistan.
He is gone now. But can people like him ever die? Never.
He was an honest politician. Besides, being a politician and scholar, he was an artist and journalist as well. He did not amass wealth. Men of intellect do not mint money; they give their minds to the nation. As Sheikh Saadi had said: “Do not look for their graves in graveyards; they are buried in the hearts of people.”
Hanif Ramay lives on , in our memory, and in Pakistan’s progressive political history. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Amen.
Islamabad
1st July 2026
