My Father – the First Petarian Principal Muhammad Haseeb Abid, Kit No
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My Father – The First Petarian Principal Muhammad Haseeb Abid, kit no. 97158/Liaquat Published in Petaro and Petarians Over 50 Years © Edited and Published by Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui, 2007 When I was asked to write an essay about my father, Commodore Muhammad Abid Saleem SI(M) ONM(Fr), focusing on his achievements and personality, I thought it would be a very easy task. But as I sat down to write, I found myself lost in words. There is so much I would like to share with the Petarian community that it is difficult to condense all my thoughts into a few pages. Ever since I came of age and started to appreciate my father’s presence, I have a pretty good track record of his postings, his friends, his achievements, and good and bad times. But when I sit down to pen those down, I find that in reality I know very little about his life before his marriage. Anyways, I will try to share with you all what little I do know. My father was born on the 11th of May, 1951, somewhere in District Sargodha, to Chaudhry Noor M. Khan Saleem (late) and Naimat Begum. He was the third of six siblings. His early education was at Faisalabad, the city where he originally hailed from. In my conversations with him, I know for a fact that he had always been interested in joining the Army. I once asked him as to what took him to Petaro. He told me that someone from his village Jehangir Kallan showed him an ad in the newspaper about interviews being held in Lahore for the new entry in Cadet College Petaro. He was under the impression that if he got admission into Petaro, he would automatically be granted commission in the Army as an officer. It was only after reaching Petaro when he found out that the path to the Army was not guaranteed. Petaro produces good citizens and that is it. So it was with this misconception in his mind, he asked his father’s permission to sit for the Petaro entrance exam and interview at Lahore, who initially refused him, simply because Petaro was so far away from Faisalabad. But upon my father’s repeated requests, my grandfather finally agreed. He also said to my grandmother that “He’s just a kid who wants to go to Lahore…… Let him go………. It is not that he’s going get admission anyways……… He’ll be back in a few days”. As fate would have it, he succeeded and was on his way to Petaro. The young Abid Saleem joined Cadet College Petaro in 1964. This is the part of his life that he calls the ‘Golden Years’. Whenever, he achieved something, he would always remind me that this would not have been possible had he not been for Petaro. I have heard fairy tale like stories about his five-year stay at Petaro. Some from him, while others I found out after becoming a cadet, myself. When I was growing up he used to talk a lot about his friends from Petaro, especially his roommates Kazi Zulkader uncle and Zubair uncle. He had always been very close to Dr Kamal Qureshi as well. Then there was TJ Uncle (Captain T J Siddiqui), and he always talked very highly of Brig Mukhtar and Brig Arshad Zaman. His entry mate ‘Muneeb’, who achieved ‘Shahadat’ in 1971 held a very special place in his heart. I remember that, one of the first things he did after becoming Commandant CCP was to have Lieut. Muneeb shaheed’s name engraved on the plaque reserved for ‘Shuhada’. My father used to tell me stories of his friend “Tarzan” (probably the best footballer in the history of Petaro), and as to how the goalkeeper used to be scared of him; and how he could tear the net with one kick. Many of the senior Petarians, especially the class of 64, are better aware of my father’s days in Cadet College Petaro. But I will highlight a few achievements of his at Petaro. He had always been very good in athletics and especially football. He joined the college football team in 9th class, if I am not wrong, and eventually became the college team captain. He was given the Badge of Honor in 10th class and at the end of his stay in Petaro he was Junior Under Officer of Latif Division. When I joined Petaro, I was overcome by seeing his name splashed all over the outer walls of Quaid Hall. My awe and respect for his achievements increased many fold. After passing out of Petaro, my father applied for commission. Upon the advice of one of his father’s friends, he opted to join Pakistan Navy instead of the Army which he had dreamed of as a teenager. I have always known my father to love the Navy. He is very passionate about the service. His career in the Navy has taken him across the globe and also to the remotest regions of Pakistan. My father got to see action on board PNS Babur, soon after getting commission in 1971. Had East Pakistan not been lost, he was next in line to be posted to Chittagong. That never realized. Subsequently, there was a string of postings on board destroyers, frigates and the famous Tug of Pakistan Navy, PNS Madadgar. It was on board Madadgar that he got to sail from Shanghai, China to Toulon, France. He would never tire of telling stories about his sea experiences. One often hears from others that sea life gets to be very monotonous. But my dad never seemed to get bored from it. He truly loves the white uniform and as far as I know him, he will never take it off until the Navy bids him “goodbye”. Cdre. Abid Saleem was one of the lucky ones in the Navy. He got the opportunity to sail on several cruises on board the naval vessels. He did his PWO course in 1978 from UK. In 1985 he proceeded to USA for an Intelligence Course. In 1988 he again proceeded to UK, this time for his Staff Course, after topping in his class. In 1993, he proceeded to UK, a third time, for the acquisition of PNS Babur as captain. In 1997, he was appointed as Army and Naval Attaché in Paris, France. It is rather uncanny that his promotions took place when he was posted abroad. He was promoted to “Commander” in 1988 when he was in UK doing his staff course. He was promoted to “Captain”, when he was in UK for acquisition of PNS Babur and he was promoted to “Commodore” in 2000 when he was Army and Naval Attaché in Paris. It was his sheer hard work, dedication to duty and blessings of Almighty Allah that he got to proceed abroad so many times. My father did three tenures at the Naval Headquarters in Islamabad. He was first posted there as a Lt Cdr in the Protocol Department, then as Commander he was appointed as Assistant Director Naval Intelligence and as Captain he was appointed Director Projects Ships. His on sea command include that of a submarine chaser PNS Baluchistan, a frigate PNS Aslat and a destroyer PNS Babur. While commanding Baluchistan and Aslat, his ships won the Annual Fleet Efficiency awards; whereas on Babur, he finished second after a nail biting and thrilling competition. After finishing his tenure as Army and Naval Attaché in Paris France he proceeded to command his alma mater, Cadet College Petaro in October of 2000. What a stroke of fate indeed! It is rare that a person would actually come to the pinnacle of the same institution that nurtured him. Cdre. Abid owes everything he has to Petaro and he is ever grateful to this institution. His performance in Petaro as Commandant and Principal speaks for itself. The college land had never been secured. It was his sheer efforts and uphill battles against all odds that officially allotted over 700 acres of land to the college. Only time will tell as to how important this is for our progeny. It has safeguarded the college for all times to come. In addition to this, the discipline, the academics, sports and all areas have improved massively. Various improvements in infrastructure have taken place like the construction of the Giasuddin Squash Court by his batch mates, improvement of roads network, potable filtered water for all residents of Petaro, housing for lower employees, etc. In recognition of my father’s services he has been awarded Siatra-e-Imtiaz (Military) by the President of Pakistan. He also has the distinct honor of being awarded “Order National du Merit of France” by the French President in recognition of his services as Army and Naval Attaché in Paris, France. Besides his professional life, I have always found him to be very kind, gentle and a very simple and down-to-earth person. He is a very caring and a loving husband to my mom, Rahila, and a great father to me, my brother Mughees and sister Merium. I have always looked up to him for advice, sometimes by asking and most of the times by just simply observing him. He gets full marks for bringing up such a wonderful family like ours. We got the best from him. Sometime ago I was had to go for a job interview. The interviewer asked me “Who do I look up to in life?” I said, without a moment’s hesitation “My Father”.