Aymen Zaheer
RIYADH — Pakistan Writers Club – Riyadh (PWC) held a literary sitting to pay rich tribute to the founder of Jang Group —Mir Khalil ur Rahman — which was attended by the office bearers and members of PWC and its Ladies Chapter (PWC-LC).
Dr. Rabia Amer, finance secretary of PWC-LC, said that it is always an honor to talk about great people, and Mir Khalil Ur Rahman is one of them. “Mir Sahab was a multifaceted personality who strongly believed in freedom of the press. He ran the largest news network of the country.”
Abdul Rauf Mughal appreciated the role of “Jang” in keeping constructive journalism alive in Pakistan. “Many journalists of today benefitted and were a part of Jang newspaper,” Rauf said.
Aymen Zaheer said that late Mir Sahab was an exceptional personality and an institution in himself. “He is measured as the originator of contemporary Urdu journalism. It was because of his productiveness that at that time and even today the Jang Group is the leading newspaper of our country,” he added.
“To reach the apex is not a matter but to maintain the same good standard is really hard. Mir Sahib aptly maintained it and worked hard to achieve the goals of his life,” Zubair Bhatti said.
Ehsan Abbasi mentioned that in his early days, Mir Sahab used to sell newspapers on bicycle and ultimately became a leading name in the newspaper industry. “He founded Jang newspaper and almost all the big wigs of journalism of today wrote for the Jang Group,” Abbasi added.
Faiz Al-Najdi took a bird’s eye view of Late Mir Sahab life. He was born in Gujranwala in 1927 and passed away in 1992. “With his untiring efforts, he promoted and defended the Urdu language and always stood up against the dictators of his time,” Najdi remarked, adding, Mir Sahab became a pioneer in color printing and for the first time, he did in 1991 by bringing out issues of The News International language daily in color.”
Ashiq Hussain said that in 1985/86, Jang was the best one out of 28 newspapers published from Lahore. “Mir Sahab is known as a pioneer and promoter of journalism in Pakistan. In 1990, Jang was also started distribution in Saudi Arabia and it is considered a very renowned newspaper in the local community,” Ashiq said.
Ambreen Faiz remarked that Urdu news reporting would not be complete without Mir Sahab. She read out a detailed write-up in his honor.
Madiha Malik paid rich tributes to Mir Sahab. “Mir Sahab was a role model for today’s newspaper industry and media houses. He was a mentor and the coming generation should follow his footsteps and the live example, is the Geo Network, which is one of the leading TV network today, Madiha remarked”.
Farah Ehsan concluded with the statement that Mir Sahab would be long remembered for his services to the Pakistani journalism. She also prayed for his peace in the hereafter.
