By: Atiqa Afzal
The death anniversary of Mir Khalil-Ur Rehman is marked on January 25. He was a Pakistani newspaper editor and the founder of Jang Group of Newspapers. This newspaper ranks among the most successful newspapers in Pakistan.
He was born on July 19, 1927, into a middle-class family in Gujranwala, where he received his early college education. Then he got an accountancy degree from the University of the Punjab. During World War II, his family moved to New Delhi, the capital of the British Indian Empire. His path was full of difficulties and unknown challenges. He launched Jang in 1941 from Delhi. The time of independence was difficult for journalism, and the press was far from free. Mir Sahib, without any political pressure, declared the Jang newspaper as the voice of the All India Muslim League, with a mission of independence.
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Mir Sahib made great and unforgettable efforts in the creation of Pakistan. Quaid-i-Azam himself acknowledged and praised his efforts towards a free press and supporting the Pakistan movement.
His vision was to build a state-of-the-art organization. For this purpose, he spent day and night introducing new technologies regarding newspaper publication. He also introduced computerized Nastaleeq in his newspaper. This set Jang Newspaper apart from all others.
He died on January 25, 1992, in London, United Kingdom, at the age of 70. Before his death, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was flew to London for medical treatment. Then, he was further diagnosed with tracheostomy. On the evening of January 25, after his seemingly successful surgery, Rehman unexpectedly suffered a cardiac arrest while he was on the ventilator. That night, the doctor confirmed that he had passed away.
Despite his love for newspapers and journalism, he had a strong passion for cleanliness, as well as reading and writing. He was also extremely fond of recycling, as he hated the unnecessary wastage of things.
