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 exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

and 3rd

Chief Minister of Sindh Chief Minister of Sindh (, ur, —), is the elected head of government of Sindh. Syed Murad Ali Shah is a PPP politician and the current Chief Minister of Sindh. The Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government alongside the Chief ...

.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 per ...

. 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 subcont ...

'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 administra ...

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 c ...

. After the independence, he became

chief minister of Sindh Chief Minister of Sindh (, ur, —), is the elected head of government of Sindh. Syed Murad Ali Shah is a PPP politician and the current Chief Minister of Sindh. The Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government alongside the Chief ...

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 exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. 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 Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

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 ...

''. 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 Hous ...

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

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 1966Obituary: 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 p ...

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, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upp ...

Illahi Bukhsh Soomro and the veteran politician Sherbaz Khan Mazari.

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