Author, veteran Pakistani diplomat who served in Saudi Arabia dies of coronavirus

ISLAMABAD: Distinguished Pakistani diplomat, author and former director Hajj in Saudi Arabia, Bahrullah Hazarvi, passed away on Thursday after contracting COVID-19 in Islamabad at the age of 68.
Hazarvi worked in Saudi Arabia for more than three decades in a number of diplomatic positions and wrote a book on the life of King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al-Saud, the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was published in 1997 in English, Arabic and Urdu.
“He remained ill for eight to ten days with symptoms of COVID-19, like flu, cough and fever... and breathed his last on Thursday evening,” Hazarvi’s 30-year-old son, Muhammad Fawad Hazarvi, told Arab News on Saturday.
He is survived by his wife, six daughters and three sons. 
Hazarvi’s first posting to Saudi Arabia in June 1977, was as a young coordination officer in Pakistan’s consulate general in Jeddah. He continued to work there for 33 years until he retired in 2010, by which time he was director of Hajj.
“My father always played a positive and constructive role in the Saudi-Pak bilateral relationship in his official and unofficial capacities,” Fawad said. 
“He was one of the greatest friends of the people of Saudi Arabia.”
Hazarvi was currently working as a volunteer adviser with the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, to help make “the best possible” accommodation and transportation arrangements every year for Pakistani pilgrims.
Qadri eulogized his volunteer services in helping the government formulate Hajj policies, facilitate pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah and strengthen Pakistan’s bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia.
“The deceased was a man of integrity, a thorough gentleman and highly professional,” the minister told Arab News. 
“He remained instrumental for many years in providing all the best facilities to Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia,” he said and added that Hazarvi’s death had left a void that could not be filled. 
“He had devoted his life in service of the guests of Allah [Hajj pilgrims],” his son, Fawad said, and added that his father was involved in a number of welfare projects for poor Pakistanis and among other things, sponsored a religious seminary in northwestern Mansehra district for over a hundred girls. 
Hazarvi’s long stay in the Kingdom and his grasp of Arabic meant he was frequently called upon to serve as an interpreter for Saudi dignitaries and officials during visits to Pakistan. 
Most famously, in 1998, he was the interpreter during a telephone discussion between then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, as the Kingdom offered its generous support to Islamabad in its preparations for its first nuclear tests. 
In February last year, during an exclusive interview with Arab News about his motivations as an author, Hazarvi said: “King Abdul Aziz’s love for peace and Muslims all over the world inspired me to write the book. It is a kind of tribute to his services for Muslims.”
In the book, he describes the king as a great leader, known for “forthright expression of pure and clear faith,” who always appreciated the loyalty and sincerity of his people.