Pakistan Link (original) (raw)

Diminutive King Hussein Leaves a Giant Mark

King Hussein was unique man.

In death, as in life, this diminutive man stood tall and proud, larger than life. Leaders of 75 countries gathered in Amman to pay their last respects to a man who for 46 years had not only led his tiny desert country but also played a crucial role in the volatile Middle East. His was a class act that many Middle Eastern leaders would be wise to follow.

No one thought much of him when he ascended to the Hashimite throne in 1952 at the age of sixteen. The young king, unsure of himself but mindful of his new role, would drive around Amman, incognito, and ask people as to what they thought of their new king. In time the Sandhurst educated young man would become a respected key player in the region. It was not easy.

After the creation of Israel in 1948, Jordan received the bulk of Palestinian refugees. Today they constitute 50% of the population of Jordan. In the sixties most of the Palestinian resistance groups waged their struggle against Israel from the east bank of Jordan. In a move that stunned his fellow Arabs as well as the world, King Hussein in a bloody confrontation in 1970 ousted the militant groups from Jordan. It is ironic that the bloody assault on the Palestine Liberation Organisation was carried out by a contingent of Pakistani army that was at the times on loan to Jordan. The architect of the bloody campaign was Pakistani commander General Zia-ul-haq. Zia, who later became the president of Pakistan, was the ardent supporter of PLO and its leader, Yasir Arafat.

King Hussein's decision to cut all political ties with the territories he lost to Israel in 1967 was another of his bold decisions. This effectively paved the way for the PLO to become the representative of the Palestinian people. Had Jordan continue to represent the intersts of Palestinian people, Israel would have not recognised PLO.

King Hussein's relations with Israel were also unusual. He made contacts and met Israeli leaders long before Egypt's reproachment with Israel. Those clandestine meetings between Israeli leaders and King Hussein took place in Jordan and Israel and some times on the Alanby bridge across the Jordan River. He realized that his grand father King Abdullah was assassinated by a Palestinian for King's intended accommodation with Israel. It was this personal touch and understanding that earned him the admiration of Israelis and maintained a de-facto peace between the two countries.

His personal touch was also evident when he visited and consoled the families of Israeli school children who were gunned down by a deranged Jordanian soldier. It takes courage for a leader to visit the families on such occasion and shed a tear with them. According to Benjamin Natanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, the king took personal interest in meeting Natanyahu's young son during a visit to Israel and later wrote to the boy. He wanted to see a safe and prosperous Middle East for all children.

His dramatic return to Amman after six months of treatment at the Mayo Clinic was to reassert his claim to the Hashimite throne and to change the succession to his son instead of his brother Hassan who had done a good job as the crown prince for over thirty years. In the end, all talk of palace intrigues aside, King Hussein did what most men would have done- assuring his own blood line to inherit the throne. An intriguing wrinkle, much publicized in Pakistan, is that Prince Hassan lost out in the end because his wife Princess Sarvath is Pakistani.

Two years ago while on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem I met the Imam of the al-Aqsa mosque. He told me that since 1967, when Jordan lost East Jerusalem and the West Bank to Israel in the six day war, by special arrangements King Hussein has been the custodian of the holy places. The Imam talked lovingly of the personal interest that the King had taken in funding and staffing the institutions in Jerusalem and in maintaining the Aqsa compound.

As we sat under the shadow of the Dome of the Rock in the twilight of early morning, after fajr prayers, the irony of the situation was not lost on us. It was at that very spot in 1951 that an assassin had killed King Abdullah, the grand father of King Hussein. Sixteen-year old Hussein was at his grand father's side at the moment but some how survived the attack. The Middle East and the world would have been poorer without him.