It was 18 years ago that Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman left us for his heavenly abode. Though he is no more amongst us, but he will always live in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.

My association with Mir saheb dates back to some 34 years, when I first joined Jang after having worked for approximately 10 years for other national dailies. While working with him, I have had the good fortune of observing him first hand.

Mir saheb was a man who knew his job well and was dedicated to it more than anything else. He was unlike other editors in his manners and habits and despite being the owner as well as the Editor-in-Chief of his newspaper he chose to also serve as a working journalist. He made sure that he was involved in and well-informed about the working of his organisation and did everything from editing, reporting to translating news items for publication, news photography etc. Be it any task Mir saheb always stepped up to the challenge and even wrote captions for pictures for publication.

As time passed, Mir saheb maintained his tradition of getting the job done himself and before I took charge of the district pages, he continued to translate the ‘Tarzan’ series for daily publication in the newspaper.

Whenever and wherever any news broke Mir saheb made sure that it was reported immediately and often personally covered the story himself. In this regard, Z A Bhutto’s late night procession of Peoples Party from 70 Clifton to Kakri Ground in Lyari is an apt example. In order to ensure proper coverage Mir saheb himself accompanied the procession and the public meeting that followed at Kakri Ground. The meeting ended in the early hours of the morning after which he filed the news story, which was carried as the lead story of the day.

Many years down the lane, maintaining his manner of working during Bhutto’s execution Mir saheb remained in constant contact with late Sarwar Ali Kanwal who was covering the story, the whole night until Bhutto was hanged in the early hours of morning. Those were the days when there weren’t many TV channels and thus the late night bulletin broadcasted at 1.00 a.m. was a very important source of information for newspapers. Mir saheb himself used to monitor this bulletin regularly and made sure that the designated person also followed the news. In case it was missed by the concerned sub-editor Mir saheb would himself write down the news or dictate it on the phone.
Mir saheb was a perfectionist and made sure that even the proper nouns were spelled correctly to aid pronunciation. In this regard, when the Turkish President visited Pakistan, Mir saheb contacted the Turkish language professor of Karachi University to ascertain that correct Urdu alphabets were used to write his name.

Mir saheb had no qualms about working late. Even at 2.30 am, Mir saheb would answer my phone on the first bell. He would come to work at 11:00 a.m. and remained there till midnight after which he was available over the phone from home till after 3.00 am. when the last copies of all stations had been sent to the press.

Very few people are able to accomplish what Mir saheb did in his life time. His death has left a huge void in the lives of those who knew him but he will always be remembered for his achievements and the asset of journalistic wisdom he left behind.

—The author is presently working as Resident Editor Jang London

Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman received a number of awards for his outstanding services in the field of journalism

1978 -           Gold Mercury International Award, Mexico 1983 -           Merchant Navy Officer Award 1985 -           Writers Forum Award 1985 -           Iqra Award 1985 -           Baladi Award, the UAE 1987 -           Nishan-e-Behbood 1987 -           Pakistan Movement Award 1987 -           Quaid-i-Azam National Award 1988 -           Honourary degree of Ph D, Sri Lanka 1989 -           Performance Award 1989 -           ‑Quli Qutub Shah Aalami Award (given at International Urdu Conference), New Delhi 1990 - ‑Art International Award (Best editor-in-chief award), Dubai 2000 -           Human Rights Award

Sardar Ali Sabri Memorial Society presented a souvenir to Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman on the occasion of 50 years celebration of Jang Group, for his meritorious services in the field of journalism. Picture shows Arshad Sabri, S H Hashmi and Afzal Munif, the then Minister of Production, Sindh. — Picture courtesy: Arshad Sabri, Chairman MKR Society