Ziauddin Ahmad Suleri | |
|---|---|
| Additional Secretary of theMinistry of Information and Mass-media Broadcasting | |
| In office 6 September 1978 – 5 March 1980 | |
| President | GeneralZia-ul-Haq |
| Editor-in-chief of theDawn Newspapers | |
| In office 16 August 1965 – 5 September 1965 | |
| Preceded by | Altaf Husain |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ziauddin Ahmad Suleri 1912/1913 Deoli,Zafarwal,British Raj |
| Died | 21/22 April 1999 (aged 86)[1] |
| Resting place | New Karachi Cemetery |
| Nationality | Indian (1913–1947),Pakistani (1947–1999) |
| Political party | Muslim League |
| Spouse | Mair Jones |
| Children | Sara Suleri, Shahid Suleri, Tillat Suleri, Irfan Suleri, Ifat Suleri, Nuzhat Suleri |
| Alma mater | Punjab University Patna University |
| Nickname | Pip |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan |
| Branch/service |  Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1965–66 |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Unit | 17th Army Division |
| Commands | Inter-Services Public Relations |
| Battles/wars | Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 |
Ziauddin Ahmad Suleri (6/6/1913 – 21/22 April 1999), best known asZ. A. Suleri, was a Pakistani politicaljournalist,conservative writer, author, andPakistan Movementactivist. He is regarded as one of the pioneers ofprintjournalism in Pakistan, and authored various history and political books onPakistan as well asIslam in the South Asiansubcontinent.
Ziauddin Ahmad Suleri was born in Deoli,Zafarwal,North India,British Raj (present-day Punjab, Pakistan).[2] He was aRajput Salahria.[3] After his graduation from school, he briefly studiedBritish literature atPatna University, where he obtained a BA in English.[4] He moved toLahore to attend thePunjab University to further studyEnglish literature.[4] He earned an MA in British literature after compiling a critical and analytical thesis onGreat Expectations, written byCharles Dickens.[2]
Due to his long attraction to the work ofCharles Dickens, Suleri earned the nickname of "Pip" from his family and friends.[2] He moved toKarachi after becoming politically aligned with theMuslim League, led byMuhammad Ali Jinnah.[2] In support of thePakistan Movement, he penned many political columns andopinions in theOrient Press as well as the BritishEvening Times.[2]
Suleri also authored and published "The Road to Peace and Pakistan" in 1944, andMy Leader in 1945; all of which greatly exhorted the political objectives of thePakistan Movement and the independence from theBritish India of theBritish Empire.[2][5] In 1946, he departed for the United Kingdom but returned toPakistan after thepartition by the United Kingdom.[5] Immediately after his return, he was appointed assistant editor of theEnglish language newspaper, theDawn.[5] He leftDawn when thePakistan Times was started in 1947, and took an assignment as its correspondent in London.[5] For sometime, he remained associated with thePakistan Army and briefly served inInter-Services Public Relations, which he eventually becoming itsdirector-general and achieved the rank ofcolonel in 1965.[6][7]
Suleri was appointed as editor ofThe Pakistan Times in 1966.[8] During this time, he gained a conservative consciousness and wrote in support of military governments andcapitalism. He penned several articles against theleft-orientedPakistan People's Party during thegeneral elections held in 1970. Subsequently, he was removed by Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto fromThe Pakistan Times and was thrown in jail after penning an article againstsocialism.[9]
After an inquiry launched by theFIA, Suleri was picked up on charges ofsedition at the behest ofFIA director M.A. Gurmani, and his case was tried in theCentral Jail in Punjab. After the imposition ofmartial law in 1977,chief of army staff GeneralZia-ul-Haq released him from prison and ultimately appointed him for a stint aseditor-in-chief ofThe Pakistan Times.[2] His political ideas further pushed him to be close with themilitary government whereas he briefly served as additional secretary of theMinistry of Information and Mass-media Broadcasting.[8] During this time, he also served as the chairman of theQuaid-i-Azam Academy. His association with themilitary government remained close and he witnessed key political events in the lives ofZia-ul-Haq andNawaz Sharif.[6]
In 1992, Suleri joined the senior staff ofThe News International, where he was promoted to become editor-in-chief of the newspaper.[8] Suleri was diagnosed with cancer andheart disease in 1995. On 22 April 1999, he died of heart failure at theJinnah Hospital, Karachi, aged 86.[8]
When ZA Suleri wanted to write his autobiography, he choseBoys Will Be Boys as its title. The autobiography never materialised, and after his death when his daughter,Sara Suleri, decided to write a tribute to him, she gave this title to the book.[6]
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