Dr Mutahir Ahmed — remembering a loving son, father and husband

One year has passed since the demise of Dr Mutahir Ahmed Sheikh, who, before being a professor of Karachi University (KU) and the president of Karachi University Teachers Society, was our father and friend.

The early life of our father was quite challenging. At the age of 11, he lost his father and had to take responsibility of his three siblings. He became a father figure for his siblings and never let them feel the absence of their father.

He also loved his mother and supported her all his life. He obtained his PhD degree from Karachi University and had a successful teaching career at this institution. He was a thorough gentleman and a courageous human being. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and fought it in a most dignified way.

He was a decent man and a loving son, husband and father. We miss him sorely. News Desk adds: After the death of his father, Dr Mutahir Ahmed Sheikh had to do a job to make ends meet while acquiring education. He joined KU as a lecturer at the International Relations department after acquiring a master’s degree from the varsity.

He became an assistant professor in August 1999 and was promoted to the post of professor in 2005. He also worked as a research officer at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs from October 2, 1988, till August 18, 1995.

Dr Sheikh completed his PhD from KU in 2001 and acquired his post-doctorate from University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, in 2006. Despite his illness, he completed his full term of three years as the department’s chairperson from 2013 to 2016.

His fields of specialisation were conflict resolution, confidence-building measures, ethnicity issues, religious revivalism and state-society relationship in South, Central and Middle Eastern regions.

He was awarded the Asia Fellowship Award by the Ford Foundation for research on “Ethnic harmony and economic development in Malaysia: Lesson for Pakistan”, 2004-5. He was also a visiting fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington.

In 1997, he participated in a summer workshop on “Defence and Cooperative Security in South Asia”, organised by the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies Colombo, Sri Lanka.

He was also awarded many certificates of appreciation by KU in recognition of his research papers. The United States Information Services (USIS) included him in International Visitors Program in 1993.

Both as a student and a teacher, Dr Sheikh spent 30 years at the Karachi University’s Department of International Relations.

During his student life, he took an active part in the progressive students’ movement, and was once the president of the Democratic Students Federation. He was very popular among the students because he respected them and valued their opinions even if they were in disagreement with his views.