Mir Khalil ur Rehman

Khalil ur Rehman
Born 1927
Died 1992
Citizenship Pakistani
Known for founder and editor of the Jang Group of Newspapers
Religion Islam
Relatives Tahira Baqa (Sister)

Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman was the founder and editor of the Jang Group of Newspapers which has currently grown to be the most popular Urdu and English newspapers in Pakistan. A self-made newspaper magnate he ranks among the most successful newspaper entrepreneurs in Pakistan.[1]

Early life

Mir Khalil ur Rahman was born in 1927 to a middle-class family in the town of Gujranwala, Punjab, where he received his schooling and college education. Having finished his basic education, he graduated in Accountancy from the Punjab University. During the Second World War, his parents moved to New Delhi, the capital of India. It was here that he discovered his love for journalism. The newspaper world attracted him far more than the dull books of accountancy. He had a passion for reading and writing and a fondness for newspapers and magazines. He sat glued to his radio set, listening to the latest war news.[2]

In 1940, when he was still a student, he started a newspaper for Muslims before independence during World War II in Delhi. He called it the Jang, or War. This was not an exaggerated name as some believed, but a statement against war, and so Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman made it clear that he was doing this for the soldiers and not to encourage the Second World War.

Career

When the independence of Pakistan on August 14, 1947, Mir Khalil moved to Karachi, capital of the new Muslim State, and started publishing the Daily Jang from there which was funded by a loan of 5000 rupees from Abdul Ghani Barq of Ferozsons Printers. Pakistan's Governor General, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was delighted due to this move and offered the government's help in running it. Mir however, declined the offer saying that freedom of the press was his motto and the goal for the Fourth pillar of State in Pakistan. Mir helped in founding the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE). He opposed tooth and nail any Government measure or action which curbed the freedom of the press in Pakistan.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Creator extraordinaire, By Qutubuddin Aziz, http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/spedition/mkr/2009/article1.html
  2. ↑ Ibid, http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/spedition/mkr/2009/article1.html
  3. ↑ Ibid. http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/spedition/mkr/2009/article1.html

External links