About the Author
Shahid ur Rehman served as a correspondent for Kyodo News Service of Japan in Pakistan for 40 years. He also contributed to Asia Week and Nucleonics Week, published by McGraw-Hill covering the nuclear industry and proliferation issues until 2000.
His journalistic journey began with Pakistan Press International (PPI) in 1971, where he initially worked as an economic reporter and later ascended to the position of bureau chief at Morning News.
Over the course of nearly five decades, he extensively covered the federal economic ministries and the foreign ministry. He reported on economic matters, foreign relations, and nuclear issues for almost every major newspaper in Pakistan.
In 1980, he was awarded a fellowship by the World Press Institute at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. His special interests include regional cooperation, Pakistan’s energy policy, and nuclear issues. In May 1995, he was invited by the Wisconsin Project at the University of Wisconsin to assist in the preparation of a special report about Pakistan for its publication, “The Risk Report,” which tracks nuclear issues worldwide.
He received a letter of commendation from Kyodo News for his coverage of 9/11 and an interview with President General Pervez Musharraf in 2005 about the transfer of nuclear technology to North Korea by Dr. A.Q. Khan.
His contributions for North-South News Agency were carried by leading international newspapers, including the International Herald Tribune. Poverty reduction, North-South relations, regional cooperation, and nuclear proliferation were his special areas of interest.
Shahid ur Rehman authored four books: “Who Owns Pakistan” (1998), a study about the concentration of wealth in Pakistan; “Long Road to Chaghai” (1999), a history of Pakistan’s nuclear program; “Pakistan Sovereignty Lost” (2006), a history of Pakistan’s debt; and “Pakistan: The Reckoning Begins” (2020).
Subject matter for “Pakistan: The Reckoning Begins” (published in 2023), was close to Shahid ur Rehman’s heart, but his untimely death robbed him of an opportunity to enjoy the feeling of self-contentment that people become more enlightened about the reasons behind the looming energy crisis in Pakistan.
On April 15, 2020, the author was working on the manuscript less than an hour before he walked into a healthcare facility with minor discomfort and, in his signature humorous fashion, said to the doctor on duty, “heart attack na kerwa dena” (hopefully the diagnosis won’t come back as a cardiac arrest). Unfortunately, it was. As he was discussing the situation with a specialist over the phone, a second one struck and proved fatal. “Pakistan: The Reckoning Begins” presents Shahid ur Rehman’s research and insight into the energy landscape and covers events that occurred over time prior to his death unless specified otherwise. Several of the author’s apprehensions about the energy crisis have seen the light of day since 2020, while many seem inevitable, just as Shahid ur Rehman once said: “Time is nearing to suffer the consequences of mismanagement committed by us for more than 70 years now”.