Jamsheed Marker

Jamsheed Marker (24 November 1922 – 21 June 2018) was a Pakistani diplomat and a cricket commentator. A recipient of the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, he was associated with diplomatic career for over 42 years. He was notable for his tenure as Ambassador to the United States, serving from 17 September 1986 to 30 June 1989 during the administrations of Prime Ministers Muhammad Khan Junejo and Benazir Bhutto. He claimed to have helped negotiate the Soviet military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Marker was born in Hyderabad, British India, on 24 November 1922, into a distinguished Parsee (Parsi), or Zoroastrian, family that had been in the shipping business. His father was Kekobad Ardeshir Marker, who ran the family pharmaceutical business, and his mother was Meherbano Marker (née Pestonji), a homemaker. and Forman Christian College University in Lahore, Pakistan.

He worked in his family business, shipping and pharmaceuticals, after the Second World War ended, and during the 1950s became famous for his radio commentary on cricket, one of Pakistan’s most popular sports. His first broadcast was from the Bagh-e-Jinnah, also known as Lawrence Garden, in Lahore when India visited Pakistan on their first cricket tour in 1954. He teamed up with cricket commentator Omar Kureishi for the first time as a Radio Pakistan cricket commentator. Marker, in his 2010 memoir "Quiet Diplomacy," described contacts with official and unofficial representatives from both the United States and the Soviet Union, where he had also been ambassador. Pakistan was playing a key role in the negotiations. Annan is reported to have hailed Marker's "empathy for both sides in the talks". The Portuguese foreign minister praised Marker's "sophisticated and calm approach" while the Indonesian foreign minister said Marker's "diplomatic skills smoothed the way whenever there was a 'snag in the negotiations'". recalls Marker's words of praise for the Indonesian police and the "superb leadership" of their commander Timbul Silaien after the referendum on independence for East Timor and its bloody preamble. Within days, these same Indonesian security forces were engaged in the deportation and, in some cases, the killing of East Timorese.

In June 2011, Marker was awarded an honorary doctorate by Forman Christian College University, Lahore, at the 2011–12 Commencement. Marker received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz Award (Crescent of Excellence) from President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf in 2003. Besides his daughter, Niloufer, from his first marriage, he is survived by his wife, Arnaz (Minwalla) Marker; and his brother, Minocher Marker (Minoo Marker).

Jamsheed Marker served as a Pakistani diplomat continually for 30 years. He "helped negotiate the withdrawal of the former Soviet military from Afghanistan" in 1988-1989. As of June 2018, this service earned him the title of 'ambassador to more countries than any other person'.

Published works