In the prevailing political scenario, 16th May 2008 was certainly not an ordinary day. It was special in many ways besides the resignation of the Governor Punjab and the appointment of his successor. A major partner in the ruling coalition raised a storm in a teacup over Salman Taseer's appointment, describing it not a happy omen for the future of the coalition. The good health of the ruling coalition had suffered a setback due to the resignation of PML (N) ministers from the federal cabinet. The May 12 deadline having passed without the restoration of the suspended judges, the Supreme Court Bar Association had called an all Pakistan's lawyers convention in Lahore on 17th of May to decide their future course of action including a Long-March against the federal government as well as sitting members of the supreme court and provincial high courts was no ordinary threat to the and writ of the state. This threat assumed a very dangerous proportion if a senior partner of the ruling coalition joins hands with the agitation of the lawyers. It was against this backdrop that the change of guards took place at the governor's level in the Punjab. I met Governor Khalid Maqbool on the evening of 16th May, to offer my heartfelt condolences over the tragic death of his sister and her husband in a motorway accident. A large number of people representing various segments of society came to Governor's House to express their profound grief over the tragedy. This was a unique manifestation of a people's friendly governor that is perhaps who resigned after a six-and-a-half-year successful tenure. This is no mean achievement. It is too early to evaluate and assess Khalid Maqbool as a person, as an administrator, as chancellor of all the public and private universities in the province and last but not least as a governor with a vision. It is amazing that functioning in a regime which has many political, social and sectarian conflicts Khalid Maqbool managed to maintain a balance in his conduct. During his 42 years of public service (May 1966 to Oct, 2001 in uniform and Oct 28, 2001 to May 17, 2008 as Governor Punjab) Khalid Maqbool earned the respect, affection, love and good wishes of millions in uniform and various segments of the civil society. While in uniform he focused on professional excellence and as chairman NAB and Governor Punjab, he devoted all his energies towards the goal of good governance. I'm a witness to his passion for achieving 100% literacy in Punjab; I had the good fortune to accompany him during his constant tours to every nook and corner of this province. As chancellor of all 17 public sector universities, and 15 sub campuses of these public sector universities as well as 16 private sector universities, Governor Maqbool played a typical role in the modernization of higher education in Pakistan. I cannot help mentioning that when he took over as governor in 2001, there were only 10 universities in the province (Public sector universities: 8, sub campus: 1, private university: 1) as against 48 universities in May 2008 (public sector universities: 17, sub campus universities: 15, private universities: 16).   As for his role in politics it is best to leave the judgment to historians. I can only provide an account of the 30 governors preceding him from 1947 to 2001 i.e, from Sir Robert Francis to Lt. Gen Muhammad Safdar which include many illustrious names like Sardar Abdur Rab Nishter, Malik Ameer Muhammad Khan and General Ghulam Jilani Khan. I have every reason to believe that Khalid Maqbool shall be regarded by historians as a bright star in the above listed galaxy. The new governor, Mr. Salman Taseer, hails from a well-entrenched family. I have had the proud privilege of being the student of the late Dr M D Taseer. Governor Taseer faces a big challenge of not only fulfilling the dream of the founding fathers but also completing the mission of his own father. E-mail: ikramullah@nation.com.pk