A tribute to Shakil saheb by Zubair Irshad
Shakil Ahmed Khan defeated by death this morning (April 7, 2010)
I still remember when I first met Shakil Ahmed Khan in 2008 during PMP seminar organized by JMI Alumni in Dubai.
Shakil Ahmed Khan defeated by death this morning (April 7, 2010)
I still remember when I first met Shakil Ahmed Khan in 2008 during PMP seminar organized by JMI Alumni in Dubai.
The man with white beard, sharp eyes, impressive voice & intellectual mind was more than enough to impress any one.
I wasn’t aware that one day I will be working with him.
While working for a consultancy in Abu dhabi, affected by world economic crisis in 2009, I got a call from him to come & meet.
He asked me to provide me of my knowledge of project management to his company Scantec international during weekend.
I agreed & went back to Abu dhabi till I got another call from him to leave everything & join his team urgently.
I pause for a while because there was a huge difference between working in a consultancy & suddenly leave it to join a contractor specialized in a different field!
On his insistence I agreed.
This was the first time when I got an opportunity to face him on daily basis.
I found him younger than me when it comes to energy level & thirst for work.
I used to sit, watch & listen carefully to whatever he used to say as every word came out from his mouth contain knowledge, compassion for work & determination to achieve anything fruitful.
It was the first time I met a person who almost hate the word “impossible”.
The project was a real mess & company has failed miserably on financial ground, but he was determined to take everything back from the jaws of defeat, not because he wants money!
Because he wants to safeguard the financial interest of other people who trusted him.
Suffering from multiple illness, hyper on various issues all of a sudden, saddened by the attitude of people he trusted but faith in ALLAH & his hard work to regain everything back, was the main motive of his hard work at the age of 70+.
He shared many secrets with me & many times his pain came out from his eyes, he try to wipe them out but I can read what actually was there!
I have seen the fighter who has won many battles in his life but struggling right in front of me because of the misuse of his generosity by many.
I remember, he used to say…..
Shakil khan will never run away, he will remain there to work like he used to work before, so that, even if he died then people if not say then to admit that he died while working for others.
I have seen him laughing, shouting, negotiating, counseling & crying.
He was the victim of his own, a person hardly understood but manipulated by many.
He mentioned to me more than once about Jalil bhai, the only person I think he respect too much.
His pain for Jalil bhai was prominent because Jalil bhai was the reason of his entry in UAE & he blames himself for being unlucky for him.
He went up in his career because of him & Jalil bhai came down & lost many things because of him.
He was un doubtfully an authority to his work & well known person in Dubai when it comes to power transmission lines for many years before taking a dip.
Due to high sugar I advice him to bring something light from home to eat as junk food may further spoil his health.
He used to bring apple/pear & a sandwich but he never forgets to offer me one piece of apple & some time half of the sandwich, whether iam there or not on my seat.
It is nothing but shows how much he cares for those he loves.
He was proud of his son & daughter because both have exceeds his expectation & still was there when he needs them.
He has lived his life according to him, most of the time at his terms & conditions, seen many things in life but what he was into is the worse phase.
He said this not because of difficulty level but because of his falling health & uncertainty.
He used to shout & tell many employees that if he is there, they can hope, if he dies then forget everything.
I had no doubt in what he said because we all were fighting a lost battle since dues become enormous & there was no sign of payment from Nakheel as one of the biggest problem.
He was honest in his deal, straight in his words but some time his pause while talking made me realize that he knows the fact but hiding from all so that his team shouldn’t give up.
He was generous in giving & that was his fault as the world has another approach for such kind people.
He was the victim of his generosity, straightforwardness & outspoken nature.
He was very positive approach to achieve results as he always won & wanted to win.
He gifted me two of his books (The inheritance & Ghibah,back biting) & was working on his third book “time management” & wasn’t aware of the truth that he is running of time.
I spend hours & hours listening to him till 18.01.10 before went to Abu Dhabi once again.
I spoke to him on telephone many times since after & emails too.
The last email I sent on 06.04.10 & was expecting a reply early in the morning when I get a call about his demise.
Was saddened by this news as I know the fighter lost the battle this time.
It will be very difficult for me to forget him as he will always remain alive in my heart.
I wasn’t aware that one day I will be working with him.
While working for a consultancy in Abu dhabi, affected by world economic crisis in 2009, I got a call from him to come & meet.
He asked me to provide me of my knowledge of project management to his company Scantec international during weekend.
I agreed & went back to Abu dhabi till I got another call from him to leave everything & join his team urgently.
I pause for a while because there was a huge difference between working in a consultancy & suddenly leave it to join a contractor specialized in a different field!
On his insistence I agreed.
This was the first time when I got an opportunity to face him on daily basis.
I found him younger than me when it comes to energy level & thirst for work.
I used to sit, watch & listen carefully to whatever he used to say as every word came out from his mouth contain knowledge, compassion for work & determination to achieve anything fruitful.
It was the first time I met a person who almost hate the word “impossible”.
The project was a real mess & company has failed miserably on financial ground, but he was determined to take everything back from the jaws of defeat, not because he wants money!
Because he wants to safeguard the financial interest of other people who trusted him.
Suffering from multiple illness, hyper on various issues all of a sudden, saddened by the attitude of people he trusted but faith in ALLAH & his hard work to regain everything back, was the main motive of his hard work at the age of 70+.
He shared many secrets with me & many times his pain came out from his eyes, he try to wipe them out but I can read what actually was there!
I have seen the fighter who has won many battles in his life but struggling right in front of me because of the misuse of his generosity by many.
I remember, he used to say…..
Shakil khan will never run away, he will remain there to work like he used to work before, so that, even if he died then people if not say then to admit that he died while working for others.
I have seen him laughing, shouting, negotiating, counseling & crying.
He was the victim of his own, a person hardly understood but manipulated by many.
He mentioned to me more than once about Jalil bhai, the only person I think he respect too much.
His pain for Jalil bhai was prominent because Jalil bhai was the reason of his entry in UAE & he blames himself for being unlucky for him.
He went up in his career because of him & Jalil bhai came down & lost many things because of him.
He was un doubtfully an authority to his work & well known person in Dubai when it comes to power transmission lines for many years before taking a dip.
Due to high sugar I advice him to bring something light from home to eat as junk food may further spoil his health.
He used to bring apple/pear & a sandwich but he never forgets to offer me one piece of apple & some time half of the sandwich, whether iam there or not on my seat.
It is nothing but shows how much he cares for those he loves.
He was proud of his son & daughter because both have exceeds his expectation & still was there when he needs them.
He has lived his life according to him, most of the time at his terms & conditions, seen many things in life but what he was into is the worse phase.
He said this not because of difficulty level but because of his falling health & uncertainty.
He used to shout & tell many employees that if he is there, they can hope, if he dies then forget everything.
I had no doubt in what he said because we all were fighting a lost battle since dues become enormous & there was no sign of payment from Nakheel as one of the biggest problem.
He was honest in his deal, straight in his words but some time his pause while talking made me realize that he knows the fact but hiding from all so that his team shouldn’t give up.
He was generous in giving & that was his fault as the world has another approach for such kind people.
He was the victim of his generosity, straightforwardness & outspoken nature.
He was very positive approach to achieve results as he always won & wanted to win.
He gifted me two of his books (The inheritance & Ghibah,back biting) & was working on his third book “time management” & wasn’t aware of the truth that he is running of time.
I spend hours & hours listening to him till 18.01.10 before went to Abu Dhabi once again.
I spoke to him on telephone many times since after & emails too.
The last email I sent on 06.04.10 & was expecting a reply early in the morning when I get a call about his demise.
Was saddened by this news as I know the fighter lost the battle this time.
It will be very difficult for me to forget him as he will always remain alive in my heart.
