Ali Rehman Malik on a mission to ‘save people’

Raza Hussain

A story with a good ending doesn’t just happen in Hollywood movies. It also happens when a group of determined, altruistic and hardworking individuals come together with one common goal: TO SAVE PEOPLE. This is what defines the humanitarian mission by Ali Rehman Malik.

This humanitarian mission – an evacuation to save people from death, torture and a draconian life under the Taliban regime – all began when a BBC journalist contacted the Ciro & Armand Charity Foundation Help Children Now, allerting them to the plight of young female athletes in Afghanistan.

The charity, in turn, contacted Ali Rehman Malik, asking for his assistance in evacuating this group of female athletes to safety, to a better life, to a future away from the backward regime in Afghanistan, who have banned women from playing sports amongst wide ranging essential as well as leisure activities.

‘Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed policies severely restricting rights – particularly those of women and girls’, states Human Rights Watch. ‘They have banned women from many forms of employment and prohibited girls and women from attending secondary school and university’, Human Rights Watch adds.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, has detailed how, in June and July of 2023, ‘nearly 4,500 women were reportedly dismissed from jobs in education’.

Ali Rehamn Malik, Chairman of the Institute of Research and Reform Pakistan, because of his belief that “each and every human being has the right to live a life of dignity and happiness”, decided that helping these young women and girls was the only way forward.

The group of evacuees, which he, Ciro & Armand Charity Foundation Help Children Now and others evacuated, also included personnel who had assisted NATO troops whilst they were stationed in Afghanistan and family members of the women athletes.

When asked about what his specific role in this rescue mission was, Ali told me: “my role was to help support in any way I can, from helping on the ground in Pakistan (once they had been evacuated) to helping secure safe passage to the United Kingdom.

“I am unable to share the details regarding the evacuation of the girls and where they were hiding before escaping from Afghanistan due to safety concerns for the girls and for anyone still stuck in Afghanistan, however, I can say some of the stories I heard were very harrowing”.

A rescue mission of this size and the risks associated with it does not come without its challenges. Ali tells me: “There was the logistics of everything from the start to end. From their evacuation to their housing and maintenance in Pakistan. The management of many families who did not want to be separated under any circumstances. Even if it meant a direct threat to life. A lot of the work on the ground in Pakistan was well handled by Mr Orsini (whose love, sincerity and care for the children and the young athletes was very touching to see).

“We had to make sure the families had a suitable and safe place to live (in secret). Everything from food and basic utilities to healthcare had to be managed, in the time it took to secure their safe passage to the UK”.

The obstacles and challenges didn’t stop there. “The girls also faced challenges after arriving in the UK due to the language barriers and other cultural differences. They had also been through intense trauma and were suffering from PTSD which made things very difficult”, says Ali.

Ali Rehman Malik, and others who helped in this selfless cause, are relieved that this humanitarian rescue mission was accomplished successfully. “I felt the responsibility of it very heavily on my shoulders. Remaining in Afghanistan would have almost certainly meant imprisonment or death for the girls and their families. At that point, the only solution remaining was evacuation to a safe zone”

Ali Rehman Malik’s rescue mission is also a testament to the age old saying “like father, like son”. Late Senator Rehman Malik, Ali’s father and Pakistan’s longest serving Interior Minister, worked with others and myself to help evacuate a family from Afghanistan when NATO troops withdrew back in August 2021.

“My father instilled an underlying desire to be of service to people in need…it is also a legacy I wish to carry on”, Ali Rehman Malik tells me.

Ali Rehman Malik now chairs the Institute of Research and Reform Pakistan, an organisation founded by his late father. Speaking of the aims, the ethos and prospective plans of the organisation, Ali told me: the vision is “to help. To help those in need and fight for those who don’t have a voice. We believe each and every human being is equal and deserves to be able to live a life of dignity and peace.

“It’s my goal to carry on the legacy he (Senator Rehman Malik) left behind, and to reach out and help people in need all over the world”, says Ali Rehman Malik.