Professor of Urdu (1969-1982)

Dr. Iqbal Javed left a lasting impression on the cadets of his period. He was the House Master of Ayub House from 1979 to 1982 and the Patron of the Urdu Debating Society in 1976-1977.

He joined Pakistan Steel Cadet College as the Vice Principal after leaving Petaro in 1982. When Dr. Fazal Mahmood left Pakistan Steel Cadet College, Dr. Iqbal Javed became the second Principal of that college in July 1991. He retired a year later from that position in June 1992 and remained in Karachi until his death in 1997.

May Allah grant the choicest place in Jannatul Firdaus to Dr. Iqbal Javed.

Dr. Mohammed Iqbal Javed Sahib - My Trusted Counselor

By Adil Ahmed Baloch, 7993/Ayub

Why is it that the teachers who influence us the most influence us in ways that are almost always cannot be quantified? Many a times, I have tried to think if it was Riaz Shahid Sahib’s style that always kept my interest in his English class? Or was it Jethanand Rahi Sahib’s humbleness that kept me in my place for a need to reciprocate the reservoir of respect that constantly emitted through his down-to-earth personality in his very well taught English classes? If either one of the preceding thoughts were correct then how come Ahmad Sahib’s lively style added so much to my knowledge base that Alhamd-o-Lillah I am making a decent living based on the foundation that Ahmed Sahib helped me put in place.

If I continue, I will be going in perpetuity and will just keep adding more teachers and so let me cut through the chase and draw my conclusion about people who influence us in general. My baser nature tells me that because I have remembered these people and have carried my feelings about them through my transformation from an introvert from Larkana to a liberal American goes to show that these people did indeed change my life.

Lesson learned: Never forget where you came from, if you want to keep on going.  

Obviously, every single teacher that I have ever come across had a huge impact on who I am today, but to avoid writing a book and keeping it focused I would like to write something about a teacher whose influence, I feel, will never be quantifiable.

I would like to give credit to a teacher who motivated me to the extent of changing a few things about me forever. I am talking about my beloved teacher, mentor and trusted counsellor Dr. Mohammed Iqbal Javed, PhD. May Allah give him the choicest place in Jannat-ul-Firdaus and I pray that he can happily see from the heavens above that his purpose in life was well served.

A deeply religious person, who studied Allama Iqbal in his PhD and could create Persian and Urdu verses on the fly, is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Doctor Sahib. His competitiveness and the motivation to take Ayub House to the top and groom every kid in the house to bring out the best of his potential along the way would probably not be a second either. The entire time he was Ayub House's House Master, we only saw the first two positions.

Doctor Sahib had a unique thought of challenging the inner person (andar ka insaan, as he would himself say) by putting young and impressionable kids in positions they did not have come across in their lives before and will personally help them break the ice, so to speak.

I remember, every 8^th class newbie would stand up on the podium and Dr. Sahib will ease the nervousness by making a speech into a conversation if the kid seemed lost. My own experience of sweaty palms and shaky legs while babbling something about something in my first speech ever in 1979 reminds me to this day where I have come from. It will be impossible to not stay in touch with the “andar ka insaan” now.

I would like to share just one story before I wrap it up. We used to have House inspections that played a huge role towards the overall Championship. We were in 9^th class and some of us were too busy taking care of the details for the inspection that was to happen the next day. We got so carried away in doing what we were doing that the bell rang twice and doors got closed before we could realize that we have nowhere to go to eat. While we were contemplating the options to fill our tummies, Dr. Sahib passed by the corridor and walked in to our dormitory. Upon hearing us out, he offered all of us to come over and be his guest for dinner that night. There used to be a guest house adjacent to the HM’s office in Ayub House that was set for our dinner and much to our surprise there was a special menu in Dr. Sahib’s household that nightJ. We were 4 or 5 and we used to eat like animals back then, just so that you get a perspective hereJ. I confess that I tried to pull the “stunt” successfully at least twice after thatJ.

All of us have moved on in life but every single one of us remembered that Nehari and Parathas from that night.

Over the passage of time, one question has sometimes bothered my mind time and again: What did the Doctor household eat that night? I guess we will never know the truth.

There, my friends, is a very small mention of someone WHO KNEW HOW TO CARE.

Dr. Javed Iqbal Sahib moved on to be the first Vice Principal of Cadet College Steel Mill. I went to meet with him at Steel Mill as a rugged Karachiite in the middle of our summer vacations on a motor cycle. What I will not forget is the excitement in his words and eyes, and the warmth in his hug. He saw me from a distance and almost shouted, “I recognize you my son” and before he embraced me. Not too many seconds went by and there came the second question, “Yeh baalo.n ko kiya huwa hai Sahibzaday?” That was Dr. Javed Iqbal Sahib, caring with no formalities whatsoever - like a father would care for his own.

Dr. Sahib: I miss you and have no idea how to pay you back for what you have done for us. I certainly don’t know how to quantify it. Maybe my dewy eyes are a small token to make you feel a little bit of how much you meant to me.