Tribute to a Fighter – Nabiha Chaudhry

Faces come and go in life, but very few manage to leave a mark on our memories. As the clock in my room ticks away in a soft but persistent reminder of time passing away, I write in memory of a dear friend who outlived most of us in the short time she had in this world.

Nabiha Chaudhry, Engineer in Electronics from NED, topper in CSS, and CSP Officer Trainee in 41st Commons, Founder and Ex President Insaf Students Federation Girl’s Wing, Karachi, Co-founder of Constructive Students Network, and Insaf Public School, MPK, was a woman quite ordinary in her countenance, but held within herself, a river of aspirations.

Nabiha was no average woman. Her goals in life were far different and far greater; ones that caused her to be what she was. Her aims were based on a fight for justice; one that she had struggled for the greater part of her life.

In 2005, her father, Dr. Saleem Chaudhry was gunned down by assailants at M.A. Jinnah road, Karachi, in what seemed like an attempted murder in vengeance. He was the Principal of Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi. Nabiha was visibly shaken by the incident and tried her level best to bring those responsible to justice. But she was only 18 yrs old, an undergraduate, with little approach to the world she had so much faith in. It was a faith shattered to bits and she vowed to repair it for those who came after her.

Everything in her life hence was filled with the sole ambition of delivering justice to those in need, and to fulfill her dream of a progressive Pakistan. Her love for her country, was a warmth that could be felt by even those who only knew her as an acquaintance. Nabiha was remarkable in valor and determination. Her friends, colleagues and juniors remember her as the Iron Lady; the one who never gave up.

With her countless efforts, she not only provided a base for like-minded individuals to work for the country, she also set up a school and gathered funds to prepare another generation that could follow hers. The Constructive Student’s Network has held various workshops throughout Karachi to this date, under the supervision of Nabiha Chaudhry. The purpose of these workshops was to recall the reason of creation of Pakistan, recount and analyse mistakes and deliver solutions to work on. Workshops were held across several institutions in Karachi, as well as in LUMS, Lahore.

The Insaf Public School in (Koth Ghulam Muhammad) MPK, was another of her untiring efforts. The school aims to provide education to every child there; absolutely free. The school runs entirely on the funds that were collected by Nabiha and her friends.

On the fateful day of 15th October, 2014, the grave report of her death came to me through a news I read online. What followed was a naïve report by the police that it was an attempted suicide, including a series of disgusting rumors with outrageously insane remarks backed by a media too eager to earn money through spice.

Anyone who knew Nabiha even vaguely can testify that she was never a person who would commit suicide. Nabiha was a woman with a strong will and stronger faith in Allah. Her words delivered a strength that was drenched in love and hope. Her efforts were to seek and excavate the truth beyond the reach of the common man.

Nabiha was outstanding in her identity. Her loss is not one that can be compensated anytime sooner. Nabiha was that strong candle of hope for the country that never flickered in the greatest of storms. If the people of Pakistan are reading this, we have lost ourselves a strong warrior.
May her soul rest in Peace.

Ameen.