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Aslam and I joined
Cadet College Petaro on the same day on 1
September 1965 - in 9th class. He was allocated a
bed right next to mine in the rear dormitory on
the ground floor of Latif House. It was but
natural that we became great friends and remained
as such throughout our stay at Petaro.
He was a very quiet
and gentle person, and was a good student. He was
a thorough gentleman indeed. He would be rather
shy to speak up in most gatherings. But between us
close group of Latifians, we always had a great
time together.
After leaving Petaro in 1969, Aslam got his
Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering from Agriculture
University, Tandojam.
He made his career
with PIDC (Pakistan Industrial Development
Corporation). He was posted to different jobs in
different places in Pakistan during his career of
3 decades with the organization. Towards the end,
he was posted at the Managing Director of Javedan
Cement which was one of the units owned by the
government. In 2007, Javedan Cement was privatized
and sold to the Jahangir Siddiqui group. Aslam was
then posted out to another unit. However, a year
or so later, he was relieved and his services were
brought to an end.
Dissatisfied with
this injustice to him, Aslam took the matter to
court against PIDC seeking reinstatement in the
organization. The matter remained subjudice for
nearly 2 years. The decision of the court was
expected on 15 March 2010. He went to the court
and was waiting for this final hearing and
decision when fate struck. He had a massive heart
attack and was taken immediately to the hospital.
He expired in the hospital within an hour or so.
Aslam's body was
taken to his native Mirpur Mathelo that evening,
and he was buried the next morning in his
ancestral graveyard. May Allah shower His Mercy on
Aslam and grant him the best place in Jannatul
Firdaus. I will miss him very much indeed.
Aslam's son Athar
was also a Petarian. He is kit no. 2004092/Jinnah.
Two of his brothers - Noor Mohammed Chandio,
672/Latif (who was one year junior to me) and
Nazir Ahmed Chandio, 68152/Jinnah are also
Petarians. And so are his nephews Tariq Nazir
Chandio, 9419/J and Sajid Nazir Chandio 9613/J.
It is an honour for
me to be the batch mate of Muhammad Aslam Chandio. |
