Muhammad Yusuf Abdullah Haroon (1916 – 12 February 2011) was a Pakistani businessman and politician who served as the 5th
Governor of West Pakistan
West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial Enclave and exclave, exclaves created during the One Unit, One Unit Schem ...
and 3rd
Chief Minister of Sindh.
[Obituary of Yusuf Haroon on The Nation newspaper]
Published 14 February 2011, Retrieved 17 September 2021
Early life and family
Born in 1916 to
Abdullah Haroon
)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Karachi, British India
, death_date =
, death_place = Karachi, British India
, death_cause =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates =
, nationality = Indian
, other_names =
, known_for = Politics (Pa ...
, Yusuf worked closely with
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
as his personal assistant and was active in the
Pakistan Movement
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...
.
[ He was a witness to ]All-India Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...
's 25th session in Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
in 1930.
Yusuf was married Pasha Haroon, a niece of Aga Khan III
Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), commonly known by his religious title Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imam of the Nizariyya. He played an important role in British Indian politics.
Born to Aga Khan II in Karachi, Aga Khan II ...
who was the 48th Imam of the Ismaili Shias, in 1937.
Career
Yusuf was active in politics spanning nearly seven decades.
From May 10, 1944, to May 8, 1945, he served as mayor of Pre-independence Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
.[ After the independence, he became chief minister of Sindh and served as the chief minister between 1949–50 and then as a ]governor of West Pakistan
West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial Enclave and exclave, exclaves created during the One Unit, One Unit Schem ...
in 1969.[
Yusuf also served as a federal minister and as a high commissioner to ]Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. In addition, he worked briefly as chief editor, Daily Dawn newspaper
''Dawn'' is a Pakistani English-language newspaper that was launched in British India in 1941. It is the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, and also serves as the country's newspaper of record. ''Dawn'' is the flagship publication of the Da ...
in 1966. After moving to New York, he served as an executive of the now-defunct Pan Am Airlines before retiring.[
As chief minister of Sindh, Yusuf Haroon piloted a bill for land reform to abolish large land-holdings. When the bill failed to pass, he resigned from his position as chief minister.][
]
''Dawn''
Yusuf Haroon was a founding member of the ''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 ...
''. In 1946, when Yusuf was in New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
to attend a constituent assembly session, Jinnah called him to his residence and asked him to discontinue the newspaper ''The Herald'', then edited by Desmond Young, and instead start the publication of ''Dawn'' in Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
, 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 ...
, the soon-to-be independent nation, even though Dawn’s Delhi edition would continue to be published. Jinnah also asked him and his family to buy all the shares of the new newspaper company.The day Dawn became Herald
JournalismPakistan.com website, Published 27 April 2013, Retrieved 17 September 2021
He became the chief editor of the Dawn newspaper in April 1966[Obituary: Former governor of West Pakistan no more]
Dawn (newspaper), Published 17 February 2011, Retrieved 17 September 2021 after the long time 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 ...
decided to join the cabinet of President of Pakistan, Field Marshal Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
in March 1965. Altaf Husain had been hand-picked by Jinnah to be the editor of Dawn, Delhi before 1947.[ He was also elected the president of the ]All Pakistan Newspapers Society
All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) is an organization of major Pakistani newspapers, their publishers, companies, and corporations. It includes the Jang Group of Newspapers, Dawn Group of Newspapers, and Nawa-i-Waqt Group of Newspapers.
...
of Pakistan for the term 1966–67. Yusuf Haroon's independent-looking outlook annoyed the next President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.[Yahya Khan
General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his pr ...]
and he had to leave Pakistan in a hurry to avoid arrest in 1969. He later decided to settle in New York and remained there after the Yahya Khan government fell in December 1971.[
]
Death
Yusuf Haroon died on February 12, 2011, after a protracted illness, at the age of 95 in New York.[Yusuf Haroon laid to rest]
Dawn (newspaper), Published 17 February 2011, Retrieved 17 September 2021
His funeral was attended by the former Pakistani prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali
Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali (; 1 January 1940 – 2 December 2020) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Pakistan from 2002 until his resignation in 2004. He was the first and only elected prime minister from Balochi ...
, former Sindh governors Kamal Azfar and Moinuddin Haider
Moinuddin Haider, HI(M) (Urdu: معین الدین حیدر ; born 5 June 1942) is a retired three-star rank general of the Pakistan Army, who later served as the Governor of Sindh and then as the Interior Minister of Pakistan.
Army career
Ha ...
, former speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...
Illahi Bukhsh Soomro
Elahi Bux Soomro or Illahi Bukhsh Soomro is from Shikarpur, Sindh, a Pakistani senior politician and legislator. He was the 16th Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan.Elahi Bux Soomro was the acting President of Pakistan from 1999–1999 wh ...
and the veteran politician Sherbaz Khan Mazari
Sherbaz Khan Mazari () (6 October 1930 – 5 December 2020) was a Pakistani politician and a leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
Career
Mazari was born in Rojhan Mazari on October 5, 1930. His father, Mir Murad Bakhsh Khan, was ...
.[
]
References
External Links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haroon, Yusuf
1916 births
2011 deaths
Pakistani people of Iranian descent
Mayors of Karachi
Chief Ministers of Sindh
Governors of West Pakistan
Memon people
Yusuf
Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...
Dawn Media Group people
Politicians from Karachi
Pakistan Movement activists
St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni
Dawn (newspaper) editors