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 ...
Gujrat, Pakistan
Gujrat ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It is the capital of Gujrat District and it is the 21st largest city of Pakistan by population. Along with the nearby cities of Sialkot and Gujranwala, Gujrat forms p ...
on 10 June 1934.
He passed his matriculation exam in 1947 and earned his Master's degree in English literature from the Government College, Lahore.
In 1956, he obtained a diploma in public administration from St Catherine's College, the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, followed by a diploma in journalism in 1960.
Career
Masood Mufti was a member of the
Civil Service of Pakistan
The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...
(CSP) from 1958 to 1994 and retired as Additional Secretary to the Government of Pakistan in grade BPS-21. He served as Secretary to the Government of East Pakistan, Education department at Dhaka. After the inception of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, he was held by India as a
Prisoner of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
for almost two years. His witness to this national tragedy became the topic of his several books, including ''Lamhe'' (1978), his diary.
He was serving as Joint Secretary to the Government of Pakistan in the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) when General Zia-ul-Haq imposed martial law. In protest, he quit the federal government and went on deputation to serve in
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
(ADB). He spoke against the feudal-army axis in Pakistan's democratic decay. He went on to form the first public library in
Loralai
Loralai ( ps, لورلايي, ur, ), also known as Bori ( ps, ), is the division headquarter of Loralai Division and district headquarter of Loralai District. It is in the northeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is above sea level ...
district where he served as
district magistrate
A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...
. He remained deputy commissioner of
Larkana
Larkana ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Moh ...
, commissioner of
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. ...
.
During his 1994-2009 retirement, he wrote articles in English and
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
in
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...