The Austrian who held Pakistan’s first passport — and helped seal ties with Saudi Arabia

The undated photograph incorporated in this graphics shows Muhammad Asad at a Radio Pakistan studio. (AN graphics)
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Updated 13 August 2021
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The Austrian who held Pakistan’s first passport — and helped seal ties with Saudi Arabia

  • Leopold Weiss, born to a Jewish family in the Polish city of Lwów, then under the Austrian Empire, spent most of his adult life in the Middle East and South Asia
  • He arrived in India in 1932 and was persuaded to join the freedom movement by Iqbal, Pakistan’s national poet and ideological father

ISLAMABAD/WARSAW: Leopold Weiss, born to a Jewish family in the Polish city of Lwów, was a journalist who ardently advocated the Palestinian cause, a friend to the founding monarch of Saudi Arabia, and the translator of one of the most popular English versions of the Qur’an.
He was also the first person to officially become a Pakistani citizen.
“Muhammad Asad was the first citizen of Pakistan; he was the first one to get a Pakistani passport,” Dr. Ikram Chughtai, a prominent Pakistani historian, told Arab News.
The journey of how Asad came to carry the first Pakistani passport winds through the then Polish part of the Austrian Empire, Palestine, the Saudi cities of Makkah and Medina, and ends in India and what is present day Pakistan.
Indeed, Asad, who spent most of his adult life in the Middle East and South Asia and in 1926 converted to Islam and changed his name.
His interest in the Indian subcontinent was sparked during a stay in Saudi Arabia in the late 1920s where he met Indian expats and decided to travel to the region.
He arrived by ship in Karachi in June 1932, and then went onwards to Lahore where he met Allama Mohammad Iqbal, Pakistan’s national poet and ideological father.
Iqbal convinced Asad to stay in India and join the freedom movement that would lead to the partition of India in 1947 and the birth of a new nation, Pakistan, after independence from British rule. Later, Iqbal would also ask him to help draft the Islamic foundations of the emerging state.
In 1939, when World War II broke out, Asad, who still held an Austrian passport, was arrested by British authorities after Austria joined Nazi Germany against the allied powers. He spent the next six years in internment camps with Germans and Austrians captured across British-ruled territories in Asia.
“I was the only Muslim, and the Muslim soldiers who watched me wanted to let me escape, but I steered away from that,” Asad told German journalist Karl Guenter Simon who interviewed him and his wife at their final home in Spanish Andalusia in 1988.
Upon his release, Asad devoted himself to shaping the framework of a Muslim state for Pakistan, soon becoming involved in a diplomatic mission to Saudi Arabia.
“After its formation, Pakistan had no embassy in the (Saudi) kingdom,” Chughtai, the historian, said. “All matters related to Pakistani pilgrims were looked after by the country’s mission in Cairo. Pakistan wanted to send Muhammad Asad to Saudi Arabia in 1947 on an official visit to represent the newly formed state.”
But Asad had no travel documents valid for a visit to Saudi Arabia, as Pakistan has no passport laws at the time.
“Asad then went to Liaquat Ali Khan,” Chughtai said, referring to Pakistan’s first prime minister. “On Ali Khan’s special instruction, he was given the first passport issued by the Pakistani government. He kept that passport until his death in 1992.”
Asad’s lifelong association with Saudi Arabia began in 1927 during a Hajj trip to Makkah where he met and befriended King Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the first ruler of the kingdom.
“The king invited me to stay in his realm,” Asad said in what is believed to be his last television interview, to the Islamic Information Service (IIS). “And I stayed for six years without interruption ... It was a wonderful experience, a wonderful time … He was one of the most outstanding men I have known.”




Muhammad Asad during his stay in Saudi Arabia in 1928. (Photo courtesy of Mischief Films via AN)

Asad remained close to the Saudi royal family and many years later, would use this affinity to help forge Saudi-Pakistani ties.
“Muhammad Asad was the pioneer in the establishment of friendly relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He was very close to Prince Faisal who was the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia at that time,” Chughtai said, adding that Asad had also known Prince Faisal, King Abdulaziz’s son and successor to the throne.
The personal ties with Saudi Arabia not only served the cause of Pakistani diplomacy but also Asad’s most important work — an English translation and interpretation of the Qur’an that he started to work on in the 1960s, with support from Prince Faisal.
In 1980, Asad published the full translation and commentary titled “The Message of the Qur’an,” which to date remains one of the most popular English versions of the holy scripture.
The volume was the culmination of a love affair with Islam and the Muslim world that began much earlier — in Palestine.




A still from "Der Weg nach Mekka," a 2008 documentary film directed by Georg Misch, shows a poster picturing Muhammad Asad during Independence Day celebrations in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Mischief Films via AN)

Asad was invited by his maternal uncle, a psychiatrist, to visit Jerusalem in 1922 and it is there that he learnt Arabic and became a Middle East correspondent for the Frankfurter Zeitung, where he wrote against zionism, British rule, and Muslim and Arab nationalism.
“I became averse to the idea of zionism from the very first moment of my contact with it,” Asad said in the IIS interview. “I felt from the very first moment that the aim of Jewish colonization of Palestine, by doing wrong to the Arabs, was immoral.”
Asad converted to Islam in the presence of an Indian imam, Abdul Jabbar Kheiri, the head of the Muslim community in Berlin. It was also Kheiri who suggested he change his name.
Asad recounted Kheiri’s words in the IIS interview: “He said ‘wait, your name is Leopold, Leo ... Lion. In Arabic it is Asad. Let your name be Muhammad Asad.’ And so I became Muhammad Asad, from that day on.”
It was a beautiful fit: Lwów, the name of the city of Asad’s birth, comes from the word “lew,” which also means lion.


Pakistan launches first Shariah-compliant ‘Green Sukuk’ to attract eco-friendly investment

Updated 07 May 2025
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Pakistan launches first Shariah-compliant ‘Green Sukuk’ to attract eco-friendly investment

  • Green Sukuk to fund renewable energy, clean transportation and climate-resilient projects, says finance ministry
  • Pakistan says will hold auction for inaugural Green Sukuk issue, ranging from $71.4 million to $107.1 million

KARACHI: Pakistan’s finance ministry announced the launch of its first ever “Green Sukuk” financial instrument on Wednesday, saying it was aimed at attracting investments in environmentally sustainable projects.

The Green Sukuk is a Shariah-compliant financial instrument specifically designed to fund environmentally sustainable projects such as renewable energy, clean transportation and climate-resilient infrastructure, the ministry said. By merging Islamic finance principles with environmental objectives, Green Sukuk provides a unique investment avenue that appeals to ethically minded investors, it added. 

“The Government of Pakistan is proud to announce a major milestone in the nation’s sustainable finance journey with the launch of its first Green Sukuk,” the ministry said. “The Green Sukuk marks a pivotal step in aligning Pakistan’s financial markets with global best practices in green financing.”

The ministry said an auction would be held for the Green Sukuk’s first issuance, with the total amount of funds to be raised expected to be between $71.4 million (Rs20 billion) and $107.1 million (Rs30 billion). The statement said the Pakistan Stock Exchange would play a role in promoting the instrument to investors.

The Green Sukuk program was prepared with the support of Pakistan’s Meezan Bank Limited, Bank Alfalah Limited, Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited and Bank Islami Pakistan Limited, it said. 

The finance ministry said the initiative was aligned with Pakistan’s Vision 2028 goal of transitioning toward an interest-free economy. The Green Sukuk would attract a “broader investor base, deepen our financial markets and accelerate the country’s transition” to a resilient economy, the statement said. 


Pakistan interior minister meets US envoy, conveys ‘serious concerns’ over India strikes

Updated 07 May 2025
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Pakistan interior minister meets US envoy, conveys ‘serious concerns’ over India strikes

  • Meeting takes place amid soaring tensions after India said it struck Pakistani sites that served as militant recruitment centers
  • Several countries including US, Turkiye, China, UAE, UK and others have called on both sides to show restraint, avoid escalation 

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Acting US Ambassador Natalie Baker on Wednesday to convey his country’s “serious concerns” over India’s military strikes inside Pakistani territory and its implications for regional peace, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 

Several countries have called for calm between India and Pakistan amid soaring tensions in South Asia, following Indian attacks on six locations inside Pakistan on Wednesday. Islamabad said Indian strikes killed at least 26 civilians and injured 46. In response, Pakistan claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets and struck Indian military posts along the Line of Control. 

Naqvi met Baker in Islamabad to provide her a “comprehensive” briefing in the aftermath of the Indian strikes and evolving security situation in South Asia, APP reported. US Political Counselor Zachary Harkenrider and Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry were part of the meeting. 

“During the meeting, Minister Naqvi gave a comprehensive briefing to the US delegation on the aftermath of the Indian aggression, expressing Pakistan’s serious concerns over the incident and its implications for regional peace,” APP said. 

Naqvi accused India of putting South Asia’s peace and stability at stake, APP said. He further stressed “India has torn apart regional harmony and by targeting civilians, it has blatantly violated international laws.”

Naqvi said Pakistan had acted responsibly and showed maximum restraint in the face of Indian provocation. 

“We gave a strong and appropriate response in defense of our homeland,” Naqvi was quoted as saying. “Pakistan will never allow any compromise on its national security.”

INTERNATIONAL REACTION

US President Donald Trump had reacted to the incident on Wednesday night, condemning the escalation, expressing hope that the fighting would end quickly.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “Just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve been fighting for many, many decades. I hope it ends very quickly.”

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was monitoring the situation closely and would continue to engage with the leadership of both countries for a “peaceful resolution.”

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said India’s actions were “regrettable,” urging both countries to exercise restraint and refrain from further complicating the situation, Reuters reported.

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan called on Pakistan and India “to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and avoid further escalation that could threaten regional and international peace,” Emirates News Agency-WAM reported.

Turkiye urged India and Pakistan to act with common sense amid the military escalation between them, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, saying India’s latest military action created the risk of an “all-out war.”

In a statement, the ministry reiterated its support for Pakistan’s call for an investigation into a militant attack that killed 26 in the Indian-administered side of the Himalayan region on April 22.

The UK is ready to support both India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions, Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said on Wednesday, following the worst violence between the nuclear-armed arch-foes in two decades.

“Our message would be that we are a friend, a partner to both countries. We stand ready to support both countries. Both have a huge interest in regional stability, in dialogue, in de-escalation and anything we can do to support that, we are here and willing to do,” he told BBC radio.


Pakistan warns of rainfall, storms in Punjab from May 7-11

Updated 07 May 2025
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Pakistan warns of rainfall, storms in Punjab from May 7-11

  • Authorities advise citizens to stay indoors and in safe places during rainfall and storms
  • Rain with strong winds predicted in Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiyat region and other districts

ISLAMABAD: The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Wednesday warned of rainfall and thunderstorms across the country’s eastern province from May 7-11, an alert issued by the authority said. 

Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate change, facing numerous impacts like rising temperatures, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and changes in agricultural patterns. The country’s vulnerability is exacerbated by factors like reliance on the Indus River, which is fed by melting glaciers and its location in a region prone to floods and droughts.

“Dusty winds and thundershowers are likely in most districts of Punjab from May 7-11,” the PDMA said in a statement. “Rain with strong winds is predicted in Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiat, Attock, Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Jhelum and Gujranwala.”

The authority added that there were chances of rainfall in Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Narowal, Okara, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Khushab, Sargodha and Mianwali.

Rainfalls and hailstorm were also predicted in South Punjab, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar between May 8-10, the PDMA said.

Director General PDMA Irfan Ali Kathia confirmed that an alert was issued to the district administrations including the education, health, irrigation, construction, livestock and police departments.

The PDMA alert advised citizens to stay indoors and in safe places during rainfall and contact the PDMA’s 1129 helpline for any assistance.

In early April, a severe hailstorm and heavy rainfall lashed Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and its surrounding areas, damaging thousands of vehicles and smashing the windows of homes. 

Experts say there is evidence suggesting a link between climate change and increased hailstorm frequency and intensity. While the exact relationship is still being studied, a warming climate can create conditions more conducive to large hail formation.


Airlines cancel, reroute flights after India-Pakistan clashes

Updated 07 May 2025
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Airlines cancel, reroute flights after India-Pakistan clashes

  • India launched missile strikes in Pakistani territory on Wednesday night in response to deadly attack last month
  • Flights of Korean Air, Taiwan’s China Airlines, Russian national carrier Aeroflot and others rerouted or canceled

BANGKOK: Clashes between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan on Wednesday sent airlines scrambling to cancel, divert or reroute flights.

The neighbors and longtime rivals exchanged heavy artillery fire along their contested frontier after India launched missile strikes in retaliation for a deadly attack last month.

Here is a round-up of what airlines are doing to avoid flying over the conflict zone.

Korean Air has begun rerouting its flights from Seoul Incheon to Dubai, using a southern route that passes over Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, instead of the previous path through Pakistani airspace.

“We are currently monitoring the situation for further changes,” a Korean Air official told AFP.

Taiwan’s China Airlines said several flights have been diverted or canceled.

Two flights from Taipei to Frankfurt and Amsterdam “made a technical diversion to Bangkok” before returning to the Taiwanese capital.

Three flights from Taipei to Prague, Rome and London were canceled on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“China Airlines continues to monitor the situation and will adjust flight schedules as needed,” it said.

EVA Air said it will adjust flights to and from Europe “based on actual conditions to avoid affected airspace to ensure the safety of crew members and passengers.”

A flight from Vienna to Bangkok will return to the Austrian capital while a flight from Taipei to Milan will be diverted to Vienna for refueling and then continue to the Italian city, the airline said in a statement.

Russian national carrier Aeroflot said all its flights from Moscow to and from India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the Seychelles would be rerouted.

Singapore Airlines said its flights have been rerouted to avoid Pakistani airspace.

Malaysia Airlines rerouted two flights from Kuala Lumpur — one to London Heathrow and one to Paris Charles de Gaulle. They stopped in Doha before continuing their journeys.

The carrier also suspended all flights to and from India’s Amritsar until May 9.

Thai Airways said it was rerouting flights to destinations in Europe and South Asia from 5:00 am on Wednesday (2200 GMT Tuesday) to avoid Pakistani airspace, warning of possible delays.

At least eight flights to European cities were affected, the airline said, while a return flight scheduled to go from Bangkok to Islamabad and back again on Wednesday was canceled.

Sri Lankan Airlines said its flights were unaffected and there is no change to its four weekly flights to Pakistan’s Lahore and Karachi.


Pakistan’s top court allows military trials of civilians accused of attacking army sites — media

Updated 07 May 2025
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Pakistan’s top court allows military trials of civilians accused of attacking army sites — media

  • Decision follows a legal battle sparked by violent protests on May 9, 2023, by ex-PM Khan’s party
  • The court has directed the government to legislate within 45 days to provide a right of appeal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Wednesday reinstated the Army Act in its original form and overturned its earlier ruling that had blocked military trials for civilians accused of attacking military installations, according to the local media reports.
The decision follows a legal battle sparked by violent protests on May 9, 2023, when supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan stormed military facilities across Pakistan and set some of them on fire after his brief arrest on graft charges.
Subsequently, dozens of people were arrested and prosecuted in military courts, triggering constitutional challenges from rights groups and activists, as Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party vocally opposed the trials.
“The Supreme Court of Pakistan has reinstated the Pakistan Army Act in its original form and declared its earlier verdict from October 23, 2023, null and void,” Geo News reported.
“The apex court delivered the verdict with a 5-2 majority,” it added. “Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Naeem Akhtar Afghan dissented.”
The ruling restores previously nullified clauses of the Army Act that allow civilians to be tried in military courts under certain circumstances.
The court also directed the government to legislate within 45 days to provide a right of appeal for any convictions handed down by military courts, Geo News said.
Khan’s PTI, whose supporters were among those arrested after the May 2023 protests, condemned the ruling.
“The constitutional bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan has just given the government’s petition a go by allowing military trial of civilians,” the party said in a statement. “The purpose of military law is to maintain discipline within the armed forces. It was never designed to be applied to civilians.”
The previous Supreme Court ruling in October 2023, delivered by a five-judge panel, had declared that trying civilians in military courts violated constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process. That decision was welcomed by rights groups and legal experts as a step toward strengthening judicial independence and limiting the military’s influence over civilian legal matters.
The government and the defense ministry appealed the verdict, citing national security concerns and the need to hold accountable those who attacked military installations.