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March 31st, 2013 
Peter Nolan
He is chasing cash promised to the school by the government but stuck
somewhere in a bureaucratic black hole. Even in retirement he said he will
continue to raise funds.
Then there is a trip to London next month for dinner with some of the old boys
of Aitchison’s College – Pakistan’s version of Eton – where he used to
teach.
He has plans to visit another of the schools where he used to teach in North
Waziristan, a place riddled with al-Qaeda and Taliban militants and
generally considered too dangerous for foreigners.
Eventually there is a retirement flat waiting for him in Lahore.
“I always wanted to continue, but I was slowing down and getting beyond doing
a really super job that everyone expected from me,” he said.
Major Langlands arrived in India during World War II, staying on to advise Pakistan’s
military at independence in 1947.
An extraordinary career was just beginning.
He returned to his first profession as a teacher at Aitchison, where he taught
Imran Khan and Zafarullah Khan Jamali, prime minister between 2002 and 2004,
among others.
He was persuaded to take over the school in North Waziristan in 1979 and was
held hostage for six days by tribesmen seeking to overturn an election
result.
In contrast, Chitral is one of the more peaceful areas of Pakistan, despite
being bordered by the hotspots of Dir and Swat.
The success he had in sending students from such a remote area to university –
including girls – led to him becoming known as Pakistan’s Mr Chips, famous
for his polished shoes and smart blazers.
Locals feared that without Major Langlands the success of the school would
evaporate but after a long search he is confident he is leaving it in safe
hands.
“Although they are only beginning to get used to a female,” he said with a
chuckle.
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