Former Dawn City Editor Abul Hasanat breathed his last on Saturday in Karachi.

He was 69. His funeral prayers will be held on Sunday at Masjid-e-Khair-ul Bashar, Block J, North Nazimabad, after Zuhr prayers.

He leaves behind a wife, a son and three daughters.

Born in Karachi in November 1950, Hasanat was one of five sons of Abul Akhyar, a veteran journalist who passed away in September 2010.

He graduated from Karachi University in 1973 with a Bachelor's Degree in history, philosophy and international relations.

During his student life, Hasanat was an active member of the National Students Federation. His longtime friend Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, former chairman of the department of mass communication of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology, remembered Hasanat once telling him about his arrest during the movement against the dictatorial rule of General Ayub Khan. The arrest took place when Hasanat was a student of Government College For Men, Nazimabad.

After graduating from the University of Karachi, Hasanat joined the profession and stayed in it till his death. In a career spanning over four decades, Hasanat worked for Morning News and Leader before going to join Saudi Gazette.

He worked as a journalist at Dawn from 1995 to 2010, during which he served as the City Editor and senior editorial advisor. In 2011, he joined The Express Tribune, where he served as an editorial consultant to date.

Hasanat placed great value on objectivity while reporting, once saying that he failed to understand how a journalist could write a news story with his conscience.

“A news story is to be written with objectivity. Is there any concept of dishonesty in journalism? I remember a judge telling someone he wrote decisions on the basis of ‘facts’ and not ‘conscience’. So, a journalist has to be objective in his profession,” he had said.