Many moons ago -- and when I say that I really mean very many moons ago -- I was visiting Pakistan on a duty trip. Being a hobby journalist I thought I would explore the idea of writing for a Pakistani newspaper.

After speaking to a few friends I decide to pay a visit to the Editor of "THE MUSLIM" newspaper.
I phoned up and made an appointment to see the Editor who happened to be a lady named Dr Maleeha Lodhi.

Having lived in London for very many years I was very prompt for my appointment the next morning even though I half expected to be made to wait but I was pleasantly surprised when exactly at 10.00 am I was called into the Editor's office.

As I walked in I saw this lady leaning over some paper cuttings with a pen and making some markings it was more like an encounter with an architect. She was writing with a pen and marking with a pencil while answering the phone, also holding the scissors at the same time. It was amazing to see one person doing so many things at the same time.

Dr Lodhi was very encouraging particularly when she found out that I only wrote as a hobby. We agreed that I would write an article and submit to her.

I returned to the colder climes of London and thought about it a few times and did try to put pen to the paper but never got around to actually write the article. Time went on and I eventually forgot about the idea but was never able to forget the image of Pakistan's first female editor of a national
newspaper.

After a very long time I heard that she was appointed as Pakistan's Ambassador to the USA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. I was very pleased to hear the news and really thought that having met her many years ago was my claim to fame at the time. I thought Benazir was trying to bring in people like Maleeha to improve Pakistan's chances abroad and felt very good about
it.

I would hear every now and then what an energetic and excellent Ambassador she was proving to be and it made me proud to be a Pakistani.Years went past and I lost track of Pakistani politics particularly when Nawaz Sharif took over. He proved to be a liability instead of an asset
for the country. For people like me, all we could do for Pakistan was to pray and pray we did.

Until one day Nawaz Sharif became too big for his own boots and probably did the biggest-ever favor to Pakistan by trying to stop General Musharraf's aircraft from landing at Karachi airport and "the rest is history" as the saying goes.

There was a big Hoo Haa in the western media about the army taking over and there were predictions of a people's revolt and civil war. Thank God that these flawed but dire predictions did not come true.

Slowly but surely a breath of fresh air started to come from Islamabad - in the shape of Dr Akbar Ahmad as High Commissioner to London and than Dr Maleeha Lodhi as envoy to Washington. A large number of other capable people were being appointed to high offices.

This prompted my interest back to Pakistani politics and it was my 'Khush Kismety' that I was invited to a dinner where Dr Maleeha Lodhi was the guest of honor.

I had not seen her for over 10 years but there was no change in her personality. She still looked the same to me -- calm, collected and confident -- inspired and inspiring, with the same brilliance and determination in her eyes to achieve something greater all the time.

I thought it was a golden chance to renew my acquaintance and to make an effort to talk to her. It was not easy in the middle of all these high-ranking Pakistanis and various influential British personalities trying to talk to Maleeha Lodhi at the same time.

But I guess I have been fairly lucky I eventually made it to her table and managed to say a few words about our meeting many years ago thinking surely she wouldn't remember and it would give me a chance to open a dialogue with her. To my amazement and embarrassment she said to me "Malik Sahib what ever happened to your article?"

I quickly recovered myself and her reassuring smile helped me pull myself together and I mentioned that I was writing for various English and Pakistani magazines and requested an interview while she was in London.Dr Lodhi said that she was on her way to Washington hence unable to find
any time but she said she would be in London very soon and will give me a chance to talk to her.

I presented her my card and just hoped for the best, knowing how busy she was going to be in her new position as Pakistan's new but second term Ambassador to Washington and I did not hold much of a hope for an interview in the near future.

But sure enough I received an e-mail some days later from Dr Lodhi that she was on her way to Pakistan and was going to stop in London en-route and would give me sometime to talk to her.

I prepared all my questions and arrived at her mother's smart but small apartment near the Regent Street Mosque. I rang the bell thinking a Nokar or a Nokrani would answer the bell but it was Dr Lodhi herself and she prompted me to walk up to the third floor (I nearly fainted when she said that thinking "3 floors up -- no way!"). To my relief Dr Lodhi said "there is a lift on the left hand, if your notebook is too heavy". It made me laugh and put me at ease straight away. The ice was now broken and I was ready to fire questions.

I got to the apartment and when Dr Lodhi opened the door I asked if she had any servants? She laughed and said "Yes. We have an electric Nokrani (kettle) which will make us a cup of tea in a few minutes."

I was shown the way to the sitting room and Dr Lodhi said "Please take a seat and I will join you in a few minutes."

I walked through the elegantly decorated apartment with very understated pastel color pictures on the wall and a living room designed with comfort and grace in mind. It was very obvious that someone with very refined taste decorated the place. Dr Lodhi later told me that was all her mother's doing
and that she herself lacked much aesthetic sense. "One of the flaws of my uni-dimensional personality", she said -- a remark that gave me an insight into her self-effacing nature. Indeed what struck me about her throughout was how down to earth this lady seemed. Often poking fun at herself and
not at all awed by her high and serious office.

I was about to start my questions when the phone started to ring with people calling from Washington for some important matter and Dr Lodhi excused herself and took the call in the next room. Emerging after a few minutes she apologized and asked me to bear with her as she was dealing with an urgent matter and hence was likely to get more calls. Then the buzzer started to ring even before she finished the sentence and this time the call was evidently from someone important in Islamabad.

It went on for a few more minutes. Then the phone would not stop ringing. Eventually Dr Lodhi came back and reminded me to finish my tea, which I promptly did and started to ask questions.

The blasted phone rang again and this time it was from Pakistan's High Commission in London and I guessed there was something serious going on but I was still none the wiser.

After a while Dr Lodhi appeared again from a private area of the apartment apologizing profusely and suggesting why don't I take a ride with her to Heathrow airport as her flight time was approaching and we could chat during the car ride. I agreed but requested this would only work if her mobile
phone were switched off and I got a commitment.

We went down and loaded her bag in the car and through the crowded streets of London I interviewed this formidable and talented Pakistani.

My first key question was

What is your relationship with Pakistan's military?

Dr Lodhi……… "I have had a purely professional relationship with the Pakistan army for sometime as I have given numerous lectures in various military academies over the years on subjects as diverse as Defense & Security, Economic & Social Issues, Diplomacy, Foreign relations and domestic politics."

"Through my lectures I have had an opportunity to come across virtually all ranks of the Military and have developed considerable understanding for this institution. One of the many ironies of the present situation is that an entity that has been part of the problem in the past is now trying to be part of the solution."

"I accepted the offer to represent my great country in the US under a military government because the country is in the throes of an unprecedented and multi-faceted crisis, and the military appears to be the only national and modern institution that has the capacity and the will to steer Pakistan
out of its present mess. This will not be easy and will necessarily entail the military learning to leave those areas of governance to civilians to run about which it is not trained or equipped to deal with."

"Only through such a genuine partnership can we meet the formidable challenges at hand. The present Government is here to reform not rule. As a country we confront our moment of truth: reform or perish. I am convinced that this government will not stay in power a day longer than needed to put crucial reforms in place."

"The most important issue is economic survival and related to that, is law and order, which I believe is a basic right for all Pakistanis to expect and demand. But we cannot go far as a country unless we address our crisis of illiteracy -- if we cannot guarantee the most fundamental right -- the right to education to all our citizens. We have failed as a nation."

"What lies ahead for the present government is to institute long postponed reform -- economic, educational, institutional -- which will involve pain and wrenching changes before we see the fruits of such structural reforms. This is not for the faint-hearted to undertake. It requires biting many
bullets all at once if we are to succeed. But in this process public consent and consensus will be necessary. Only public sanction will Ensure that the reforms stick and become irreversible so that when elections take place no future government can succumb to vested interests, which have always
thwarted such reforms in the past."

"Foreign policy will flow from what we are able to do domestically. Far too long there has been a disconnect between the two. We must first clearly prioritize our national objectives and than craft a coherent foreign policy to pursue these goals in a result oriented manner."

When I interrupted to ask where Pakistan-US relations stood, she said that these must be viewed and addressed within the context of the very national objectives she was speaking of. "Ties with the United States are in urgent need of repair. That is the imposing challenge before us" -- adding though,
that our foreign policy orientation should not be US-centric.

On India she was equally lucid." We seek peace with honor, but Delhi's ongoing onslaught against Pakistan is now a major stumbling block in even the resumption of bilateral dialogue. That again" she explained, "underscores the need for a two-track policy. Bilateral talks plus multilateral or third party
intercession to ensure that bilateral talks are substantive result-oriented and sustained."

Maleeha believes that over a billion people in this region should not be condemned to poverty and ignorance. But the only way we can get out of this time warp is to address and resolve the core issue that divides India and Pakistan and that is Kashmir.

Speaking to Ms Lodhi, I could see how the three professions or her life -- Teaching, Journalism and Diplomacy -- have contributed to making her a well-rounded personality with an inter-disciplinary approach and a problem-solving mindset. That's what makes her an articulate, passionate and effective spokeswoman for Pakistan.

I could see how we could really do with having more Maleeha's to speak and work for Pakistan.

Interview by Shahid Malik