On October 13th 1970, Mustafa Zeddi was found dead in his house. For the past three years, we've been researching how that happened and why. We've read thousands of pages of code documents and newspaper reports. We've interviewed people who were close to Mustafa Zeddi, who saw the scene where he was found dead, who knew him as a friend and uncle a relative literary star. What happened between Mustafa and Shanaaz on the day of October 12th, 1970, has been debated
extensively. Perhaps the real story of what happened is only known to them who took it to their graves. But this is our attempt to recreate our by our what led to the day of Mustafa Zeddi's death. I'm Saba Imtiaz, I'm Tooba Masood and this is Notes on a Scandal. It's October 1970. We know that Shanaaz has been avoiding Mustafa, but had agreed to see him on October 12th. A little background about what had been going on behind the scenes.
We already know that Shanaaz is mad at Mustafa because he was defaming her, but according to a summary of the trial that we found in the code documents given to us, Shanaaz was possibly also angry at Mustafa because he had disclosed her intimacy to Sheeran Kather. A woman, Shanaaz always considered dangerous and used to believe that she was involved in a smuggling case. Another thing that was also happening in the background is that Mustafa had threatened to
kidnap Shanaaz. When Saleem Khan learned that Mustafa was threatening to kidnap Shanaaz, he consulted his friends and Shahid Abadi about whether they should tell the police. They decided to hold a meeting and solve this problem with Zadi through his relatives and friends to avoid unnecessary publicity and a bad name. October 4th and October 6th, 1970. Mustafa manages to meet Shanaaz on both these days. October 5th, 1970. Mustafa receives a letter from the martial law headquarters.
It says that Mustafa needs to submit a report to the Pakistan Consulate in West Germany verifying the facts that he had written so that the headquarters could go up with them. October 8th, 1970. So this is a bit strange because Nasir Thurabi told the court when he testified that he had met Mustafa a few days before his death, three or four days before. But actually when we met Nasir Thurabi, he told us that he had met Mustafa the day of his death.
He told us about how Mustafa came over on October 12th and he discussed that Shanaaz is coming over. The same thing we discussed in the last episode. Exactly. But in court Nasir Thurabi said, I lost met him in my office three or four days before his death. It was in the afternoon around 2 p.m. He was in a cheerful mood. Yet come to collect 12 post put size photographs of his which were lying with me. October 8th, 1970.
Mustafa called his brother Irtazah in Islamabad. Irtazah is a serving government officer. Mustafa wanted to make sure his passport and other papers were in order. In advance of the government giving him permission to travel. He tells Irtazah he had come and spent a few days before traveling. To Irtazah he sounds happy and cheerful. The same day he writes to Vera expressing his great longing for reaching Germany as soon as possible and the agony of separation from the family.
October 9th, 1970. 4.30 p.m. Mustafa meets Kasser Azah, a relative. He shows Kasser a letter from the martial authorities asking him to get Vera's medical certificate endorsed by the Pakistani Embassy in Bonn. He had to do this before he would be permitted to go to Germany. Mustafa says he doesn't want to call Vera and the kids back as he wouldn't be able to go out. His kids' education would be interrupted.
Then he shows Kasser another letter from the martial authorities asking him about the exact period of his stay in Germany. Kasser says even if the authentication from the embassy was delayed he would be able to go to Germany after December 1970 anyway because the martial law regulation under which he was dismissed would expire. Together Mustafa seemed very happy and on top of the world. He tells Kasser he'd seen Shanaas twice.
October 9th, 1970. According to Morning News, Mustafa writes a letter to his son but can't complete it. The letter is discovered later from under the head of his lawn. I was so glad to read your very English character letter and learn of your activities. I almost was sharing the pleasure of cycling with you, playing hockey and even reading German. In imagination of course, but what a pleasure. October 10, 1970. Mustafa meets Azah Mustafa, his relative in his office.
We already know that Mustafa has been trying to meet Shanaas and had stopped her car while she was out. According to Dawn, Mustafa calls Shanaas but Saleem wouldn't let her talk to him. October 11th, 1970. Mustafa has a fairly social day. In the morning he meets Jaffa Razah. In the evening he meets Faiz Malik and tells him he's trying to meet Shanaas the next day. As Faiz later recalls, Mustafa is in a serious mood and not as happy as he used to be with his friends on previous occasions.
Mustafa also leaves his insurance policy with his friend Shahid Abdi. And then quite significantly remarks that this night feels like Shabia Shur. So, what can you tell us a little about what Shabia Shur is? So, I asked Akbar Jaffri who we should all follow on Twitter at cutmull23 about the significance of this comment. Akbar is a recent graduate of Deepol University's Law School and an avid reader of poetry.
And actually a fun fact I found Mustafa's so-em noticed just when we had started researching this book on a Twitter app. Really? Yeah. So, I asked Akbar what the significance of Fashura and this comment means. Akbar explains what Ashura is. 60 years after the Prophet Muhammad's death, his youngest grandson Hussein sat out from Medina towards Gofer to Rallyinapur and opposed the perceived decline of the religion his grandfather established.
This movement ended with a sin and his army of some 100 cut off from Gofer and redirected to the plains of Kharbala in Iraq by the several thousand strong Umayyad army. This happens on the second of Muharrah. Muharrah is a month in the Islamic and a calendar. On the 10th of Muharrah, Hussein is massacred along with his followers and relatives. His only surviving son, sisters and the remaining women and children are taken into myyad captivity.
This is a very significant event in Islamic history but particularly significant to Shia Muslims, including Mustafa. Why was this comment from Mustafa, like Mustafa saying that it feels like the Shia Bia Show? Why is this important Urdu poetry? So, Akbar explained to me that while these events of Ashura had obviously been written about an Arabic and Persian, the nature of their influence on Urdu poetry is markedly different.
Each language has genres of poetry dedicated to the ritual morning of Ashura. It found its way into the Indian Ghazal as well. So, this tradition has continued through different points including Mustafa and you can see him as a process which gathers Mir Ghazal and address Karbala before returning to other topics. And it's a regular topic in Urdu poetry as well. And why was it significant for Mustafa to bring it up at this point? That's the million dollar question I'm asking.
It's discussed so much after his death, this particular comment whether he actually said it or not and why. And Akbar says that Mustafa comparing the night or the night for his death to Shia Bia Shura is really packed with meaning. During the early commemoration of Moharam, Shia Bia Shura spent an anxiety and anticipating what's to come the following day. Everyone commemorating was what happened on the day of Ashura but the night is still spent in dread.
Poetry recited in the night tends to include lines begging the night to remain and extend itself. This, however, is a process as a comment as a warner. If Mustafa is comparing the nights before his death to Shia Bia Shura as an individual in the camps of Usain, it's meaning and the emotions associated with it become the exact opposite. Husain, his relatives and his followers are all described as being calm and content on the night of Ashura with a certainty of death.
They all vow to defend his son as long as they possibly can and visit themselves in worship already prepared for their deaths.
What's really interesting is that Mustafa is never described really as being quite religious but like all other poets and obviously because of his his religious background and I'm guessing as upbringing he does often use the themes of Karbala in his poetry as well and he also did write in energy as well as an incomplete set of verses for his brother with past a few years before. When tried to update here's this comment he tells Mustafa not to do something rash.
Also that evening Mustafa meets Parveh's Khushi another friend. As Parveh's latest say the way Mustafa was talking and behaving was completely normal. On that day Parveh says that he didn't see any signs of sadness in Mustafa. Mustafa showed him two shirts of raw silk recently made one in cream and one in blue. He told Parveh's that when he wore the cream shirt it meant good luck and good cheer for him. The blue shirt however, men that something disastrous was going to happen.
That night Mustafa also meets Shana's at a party and insists she meets him the next day. As Shana was with her to say I went to the apartment after he rang me up a number of times and threatened to kill himself if I did not come. I went there with the intention of dissuading him from committing suicide and thus save his life. October 12th 1970 Mustafa wakes up and leaves the house in his car. Our understanding is that this is the morning he met Naseer Thuravi.
We've talked about this meeting several times in previous episodes. Mustafa came over, met Naseer, made this list of qualities and bad things about himself. He returns and does a call to the trucky-daw to wash the car. He helps the call with this drop and then he box the car in the garage. Mustafa again contacts and manages to talk to Shana's. He is apologetic on the phone and tells Thuravi to forget the past.
He did not mean what he said and requests her to come only once after which he would never call her again. Shana's is already madly in love with him and thinks there is no harm in meeting him again as he's already apologized to her. 8am Selim Khan leaves his house with his kids to drop them off to school. 10.30am Shahid Raza arrives. He has to tell Mustafa that Vera has to go to Bond to get this medical certificate because there is no consulate in Frankfurt and also about his swimming lesson.
He parks the car outside because he's with friends. He walks to a bald and asks him if Mustafa's home. He knocks on the main door. Mustafa appears at the window and indicates that he comes down. Mustafa doesn't invite him in and Shahid doesn't even try to go in. Shahid guesses from Mustafa's demeanor that he doesn't want Shahid to come up.
Shahid asks Mustafa someone as upstairs. Mustafa says buzz off. He says he might get delayed for swimming in the afternoon and the child should call him at 5.30pm and that if Mustafa was delayed they should cancel the swimming appointment. While it is worth talking, a postman arrives with a letter from Vera. Mustafa fills with it and tears a bit of it. He asks Shahid if he could take his jockey direct ball with him but Shahid says his car was full of
friends. Mustafa says he would make some other arrangements to dispatch a ball. 12.30pm Shahinaw's arrives at Mustafa's house in a cab. Aqbal says salam to her. Mustafa then gives a ball the day off so he leaves to see his family in another part of the city. After Shahinaw's arrives, there are two scenarios that we know of. 12.30pm Shahinaw's walks straight into Mustafa's room where he is lying on the bed. Shahinaw sits close to him on the bed. He again insists on the same topic, marriage.
He says that the marriage will happen. Shahinaw's gives him the same reply. He insists no. As Shahinaw's refuses, he gets riled up. Shahinaw's also gets angry. Their argument is so intense that Shahinaw's got a headache. At some point, this fight turns into a physical argument. Whether they actually did have a physical argument that led to Mustafa being injured is debatable. And then there's another version of this story.
Shahinaw's walks in and embraces Mustafa. They start talking about romance in life. He asks her to have sex one last time, as he's so madly in love. She can't resist and surrenders after having a cup of coffee. Then the electricity goes out. It gets very stuffy in the room. Mustafa gets very upset. I will die of this heat. The electricity had to go out today only. A friend calls Mustafa on the phone. He bangs at saying, I'm all right.
After some time, the power comes back. The AC starts working again. Mustafa's size would relieve. But Shahinaw's now has a headache. Around 1.30 pm. Mustafa asks Shahinaw's, did you discharge? Shahinaw says she doesn't know. Shahinaw's has a bad headache, which she attributes to their argument. Then Mustafa takes out a paper packet and says, her keem Sahib has given this to me. It has many wonders. It will give you a heavenly
taste if you take it with honey. Mustafa says this will make her headache better. But when Shahinaw's drinks it, it tastes better. She asks him, why is this bitter? He doesn't say anything, but another version of this story. When she does tell Mustafa that it's bitter, he says, oh, I forgot to tell you that a keem Sahib had said that it is better but for a short time. And then he gave Shahinaw the glass of juice. We took it to overcome the bitterness of the honey powder.
Mustafa asks Shahinaw's to lie down by his side on the bed. Shahinaw starts to feel dizzy. She falls off the bed. She tries to get up and slowly clutching the wall, goes into the other room. But she falls down again before she can open the door. 1.30 pm. 2.30 pm. Nearby in Bangalore town, where Shahinaw's in Selim resided, Selim comes home. There is no one at home. All the doors are locked and the keys are at Shahinaw's.
Selim calls Shahinaw's friends, but he can't seem to find her. He doesn't break the locks of Failer reported the police because this would cause him to lose respect in front of other people in the servants. Somewhere between 2.30 and 8.30 pm. This is the period between which Mustafa Zadi dies. 3.30 to 6 pm. Nasir Tharabi's boss, the writer Sipteh Hussain, tells Nasir to call Mustafa over for dinner. He starts quenning Mustafa at 3.30.
4.30 pm. Shahid Raza is driving to the airport and sees Selim Khan come on to Dhrigrod from a lane in Bangalore town. He sees Selim turning towards the airport. 6.30 pm. Shahid Raza calls Mustafa at several intervals, but he also gets a busy signal. 10 pm. Selim Khan now calls Shahid Raza. He says the channels left the house in the morning and hasn't come back. He suspects she might be with Mustafa and he wants to know where Mustafa lives. 13.30 pm.
After midnight. The telephone exchange gets a complaint that they can't get through to this number. The operator says the phones engaged. 2.30 pm. Shahid Abadi calls Jafar Raza and tells him to come over because Selim and a man named Kareshi are with him. They want to go to Mustafa's house. Jafar finds Selim and Shahid Abadi at Shahid Abadi's house. Abadi says Selim was looking for Shahid Abadi and didn't know where Mustafa's house was. 23.30 pm. Shahid Abadi calls Feya Smalik.
He says that Selim comes to him and is making inquiries about Mustafa because Shahid Abadi is a parent here at his house. Feya is going to leave his house at this hour because his mother won't let him go out so late at night. Between 2 and 3 am. Now concerned that Mustafa is answering the phone and that Selim is looking for his wife. A bunch of people go to Mustafa's house. This includes Shahid Abadi and his wife, Selim Khan, Jafar Raza and Selim's friend Gureshi.
Aikbal, the drokhidar who's been outside, tells him that Mustafa must be inside since no one has gone in or gone out. They hear the air conditioner is still running. On Siddhi's insistence, Shahid abdinox on the door. There's no answer. The garage door is closed and locked. 7.20 am. Jafar Raza calls Mustafa again. There's no answer on the phone. 8.20 am. Jafar then calls Shafik Ahmad Khan. He's a magistrate who his jafar's glassmate in
front. He asks him for advice. Shafik says go to Mustafa's house. Shahid Abadi calls up as a Mustafa. Shahid Abdi and Hassan Mustafa go to Shafik Ahmad's house. Who advises them to contact the police because it was suspected that a woman was inside the house with Mustafa. 8.20 am. Shahid Abdi and Hassan Mustafa go to Mustafa's flat. Shahid Abdi climbs a ladder and tries to beat through the window. He can't see anything because the curtains are drawn, but he can see someone
is lying on the bed. They call Shafik Ahmad and they also call Salim. Shafik Ahmad brings the police officer and others to the site and then they break the door which was locked. 10 am. The police break open the door. Shafik Ahmad the magistrate and the police co-op stairs. Jafar Raza follows. He sees Mustafa lying on the bed. He's holding the telephone dial with the instrument on the ground. Blood is using out from his mouth and nose. The buttons of his shirt are all opened up.
There's a hearing on the ground. There are camp four balls all over the bed. Mustafa appears to be dead. In the adjacent room connected by a passage, Shahid is lying on the floor. Salim comes in and asks Shahid what happened. She opens her eyes, morns and closes her eyes again. Salim says, Shahid, what has happened to you? What have you taken? What has Zadi given you? Shahid opens her eyes, rolls over. She's certain conscious.
Salim wants to embrace Shahid but the police officer says there's no time for that. She needs medical assistance. So, Salim picks up her handbag while Shafik Ahmad sends someone to get a doctor. All of the story, the coffee, the juice, the medicine, all of his comes from Shannos, who says that she passed out at 130 and she has no recollection of what happened later. But Mustafa isn't reported to have died right away. He died somewhere between 2.30 and 8.00
So what was Mustafa doing while Shannos was unconscious? Why doesn't he go and get help if Shannos the love of his life is lying unconscious? We don't know and how does Mustafa Zadi die? I'm Sabine Tears and I'm Tuberma Soud and this was No Transcandle. Thank you very much for listening to this episode and for previous episodes and for your feedback, thoughts and comments. I'd like to thank Akbar Jaffri for taking the time to give us a thoughtful reply on Shabbir
Shur and its significance in Uttar Pohyatry. You can follow us on Twitter on our personal handles. I'm Sabine Tears. I'm Taba Hituba. You can also follow us on our official Instagram page, Merdemist g70 and also on our personal Instagram accounts. I'm Sabine Tears. And I'm Taba Hituba. This episode of No Transcandle was recorded at the Center of Excellence in Journalism at the IBA.