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[Page H3975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING DR. HAFEEZ MALIK AND DR. LYNDA MALIK
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Fitzpatrick) for 30 minutes.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Madam Speaker, I rise in tribute to a man whose life
not only stands as a testament to his own achievements but also as an
illustration of the greatness of the United States of America and as an
embodiment of the American Dream.
Dr. Hafeez Malik, whose son Dean Malik has resided in Bucks County
with his family for almost 20 years, passed away on April 20, 2020, at
the age of 90 years old.
Dr. Malik was a professor at Villanova University for over 50 years,
teaching undergraduate and graduate-level courses in political science,
international relations, American history, and American government.
Dr. Malik was a world-renowned scholar who dedicated much of his life
to strengthening the relationship between Pakistan, the country from
which he emigrated, and the United States.
Dr. Malik provided lectures to American diplomats and senior military
officers on multiple occasions at the U.S. State Department, while also
forming the Pakistani American Congress in the 1990s.
Dr. Malik's scholarship has become an invaluable contribution,
enabling the United States to understand the nuances of diplomacy
throughout the Muslim world and has guided American foreign policy for
nearly half a century.
Madam Speaker, Dr. Malik's success and acclaim would not have been
possible without the love and support of the love of his life, his wife
of 64 years, fellow Villanova professor Dr. Lynda Malik.
Hafeez and Lynda met as students at Syracuse University in the early
1950s. They got married in 1956.
These two amazing people embarked upon an amazing, productive, and
renowned public partnership grounded in the bonds of everlasting
marriage, ending only with Hafeez's recent death.
Throughout the Villanova University community, in the international
world of academia, as well as in their social circles in southeastern
Pennsylvania, where I represent, and elsewhere in the United States and
in their home country of Pakistan, Hafeez and Lynda were known as a
married power couple.
Throughout the years, they shared in each other's successes as well
as each other's hardships and served as productive, upstanding members
of our community.
Hafeez and Lynda were also proud, patriotic Americans. Their son
Dean, who is a friend of mine, is a former Marine officer, a former
criminal prosecutor, a practicing attorney, and a proud Iraq war
veteran.
Madam Speaker, in death, Dr. Malik leaves behind his lifelong spouse
and partner, who is suffering from dementia, and a disabled older son.
Nevertheless, it is a comfort to all who know them that the success
earned by this couple throughout their lifetime shall go to support
these family members now in their time of vulnerability and their time
of need, and that their son is to carry on Hafeez's legacy of public
service in this life.
Madam Speaker, I rise in tribute to a man and his wife whose life not
only stands as a testament to his own achievements but also as an
illustration of the greatness of the United States of America and as an
embodiment of the American Dream itself.
Madam Speaker, let us honor not only the life of Hafeez Malik and his
wife, Lynda, but also his lifelong partnership with his wife, Lynda;
their amazing family; all they have done for the community of
Pennsylvania; all they have done for Villanova University as a couple;
and all they have done for the United States of America as a couple.
They are a great family. They were a very, very special couple, and I
wanted to honor them on the floor of the House of Representatives
tonight.
Madam Speaker, I ask to have this speech and the life of Hafeez and
his wife, Lynda, permanently entered into the Congressional Record.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________
