Mahbub Jamal Zahedi also known as M J Zahedi (21 June 1929 – 7 December 2008) was a veteran journalist and

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. During a career of nearly fifty years he served as editor of the ''

Khaleej Times ''Khaleej Times'' is a daily English language newspaper published in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched on 16 April 1978, ''Khaleej Times'' is the UAE's longest-running English daily newspaper. History and profile A partnership between the U ...

'',

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

as well the news editor and senior assistant editor of ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

'', Karachi, Pakistan.Journalist Zahedi passes away
Retrieved 8 July 2010MJ Zahedi no more
The Daily Star 26 December 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2010

Early and personal life

Mahbub Jamal Zahedi was born in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

in 1929. He was the son of Mizanur Rahman, the census commissioner in former

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

.Dawn - Letters 13 December 2008
Retrieved 8 July 2010 Zahedi studied

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

. He was married to Qamarunissa Begum, and had two daughters, Jamila and Selina, and a son, Dilawar. In 2003, Zahedi suffered a stroke that rendered him

paralysed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

and bedridden.

Career

Mahbub Jamal Zahedi had a journalistic career that spanned nearly five decades. He served in several newspapers in the then

and

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

in key positions, as well as going on assignments to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria; Sydney and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia and Beijing, China. Due to his left-wing views, he was jailed on several occasions. He was also the founder and editor of the popular Bangladeshi periodical ''

The Agatya ''The Agatya'' (also transliterated as ''The Agattya'') was a Bangladeshi monthly periodical which began publishing in 1949. Its main focus was on literature and culture in Bangladesh, and it was considered very popular before the advent of newer ...

'', in then East Pakistan.

1950s

Zahedi started his career in the early 1950s working for the ''

Pakistan Observer The ''Pakistan Observer'' is one of the oldest and widely read English-language daily newspapers of Pakistan. It is published in six cities – Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, and Muzaffarabad. The newspaper was founded in 1988 b ...

''. By the early 1960s he held the position of assistant editor. He was also a

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

journalism scholar in Australia in 1955 and worked with the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' and the '' Melbourne Gazette''. On 7 October 1958, he was arrested late at night near Purana Paltan, Dhaka, his then place of residence, while returning home after finishing some routine desk work. The reason for the arrest was the publication of a controversial story reading that the

Constitution of Pakistan of 1956 The Constitution of 1956 was the fundamental law of Pakistan from March 1956 until the 1958 Pakistani coup d'état. It was the first constitution adopted by independent Pakistan. There were 234 articles 13 parts and 6 schedules. Origins Pakistan ...

had been abrogated by

Iskandar Mirza Sahibzada Iskander Ali Mirza ( bn, ইস্কান্দার আলী মির্জা; ur, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), , was a Pakistani Bengali general officer and civil servant who was the first President of Pakista ...

1960s

In 1960, Zahedi covered the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

Session. After his stint with the ''Pakistan Observer'', Zahedi moved to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

to work in the ''

Pakistan Times ''Pakistan Times'' (1947–1996) was a Pakistani newspaper, originally established by the leftist Progressive Papers Limited based in Lahore, Pakistan. Historical background It was owned and operated by Mian Iftikharuddin, a Punjabi politici ...

'', which was then edited by the renowned poet

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

. He also taught journalism at the

from 1960 to 1962 as a part-time lecturer. After ''Pakistan Times was'' taken over by the

National Press Trust National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, he served for a short period with the ''

Civil and Military Gazette ''The Civil and Military Gazette'' was a daily English-language newspaper founded in 1872 in British India. It was published from Lahore, Simla and Karachi, some times simultaneously, until its closure in 1963.Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

'' within the year at the invitation of its editor,

Altaf Husain Altaf Husain ( bn, আলতাফ হোসেইন, ur, ; 26 January 1900 – 25 May 1968) was an educationist, journalist, and Pakistan Movement activist. He is noted as one of the pioneers of print journalism in Pakistan and was the fou ...

, where he was given the position of news editor.

1970-80s

In 1970, Zahedi was elected Secretary General of Pakistan Writers' Guild. In the same year he also covered the UN enquiry into allegations of genocide in Nigeria. He left ''Dawn'' in 1974 to move to

to help launch the ''

'', the first English newspaper in the

Middle-East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...

, where with

Mahmoud Haroon Mahmoud Abdullah Haroon ( ur, ; 1920 – 6 November 2008) was a Pakistani politician with a career spanning over five decades who served as chairman of the Dawn Media Group, publisher of many newspapers in Pakistan.

he rose to become one of its establishing editors. He held the position of ''Khaleej Times'' editor for over a decade.

1990-2000s

In 1991, Zahedi rejoined ''Dawn'', this time as assistant editor. He published both his books on

philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is poss ...

in the mid-90s. He retired from journalism in 2001 following a stroke.

Philatelist

Zahedi is the author of two books, one on Pakistan's stamps and the other on the stamps of Gulf nations. He also published articles on the subject in some of the world's most prestigious related magazines, including Britain's

Gibbons Stamp Monthly ''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'' (GSM) is a leading British philatelic magazine which can trace its roots back to 1890. GSM is published by the famous stamps and collectables firm of Stanley Gibbons and each issue includes updates to their various catalo ...

and

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Scott catalogue The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Company, now a subsidiary of Amos Media, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the world that its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in f ...

Death

On 7 December 2008, Zahedi died in bed of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

, succumbing to a prolonged paralysis. Pakistani Prime Minister

Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. He ...

expressed grief over his demise, and offered condolences to his family. He also eulogized Zahedi's valuable contribution in the field of journalism within and outside of Pakistan, which he said would be long remembered.Prime Minister offers condolence over demise
, Retrieved 9 September 2010.

Books

* Zahedi, Mahbub Jamal (1997) Fifty Years of Pakistan Stamps, Sanaa Publications, Karachi, Pakistan. * Zahedi, Mahbub Jamal (1994) Gulf post: Story of the post in the Gulf, Sanaa Publications, Karachi, Pakistan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahedi, Mahbub Jamal 1929 births 2008 deaths Philatelic literature Pakistani philatelists Pakistani male journalists Bengali writers Pakistani people of Bangladeshi descent Pakistani people of Bengali descent People from Dhaka University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Dawn (newspaper) people Philately of Pakistan Journalists from Karachi Pakistani expatriates in the United Arab Emirates 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis Pakistani magazine founders