KARACHI: Jang Group’s publisher Mir Javed-ur-Rehman passed away here on Tuesday. He was 73.

Born in New Delhi in 1946, Mr Rehman was suffering from lung cancer and undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Karachi. He was the elder of two sons of Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman, the founder of Jang Group, and brother of Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, who is the editor-in-chief of the media group.

After taking charge of Jang Group, Mir Javed carried forward his father’s legacy and expanded the media group.

Among other media projects and initiatives, he was regarded mainly for Akhbar-i-Jahan — one of the largest Urdu weeklies of the country with a variety of content ranging from politics to current affairs and literature to entertainment.

Mir Javed’s longtime associate and senior editor of Akhbar-i-Jahan, Khalid Farshori, remembered him as a thorough professional and “strict administrator” who had remained personally involved for the best possible product for its readers.

“It was his tireless and personal effort which did not only produce some of his own publications but also set a trend in Urdu journalism across Pakistan and the world,” Mr Farshori said while recalling Mir Javed’s strong connection with Pakistan and his patriotism.

Funeral prayers for Mir Javed are expected to be offered today [Wednesday].

President Arif Alvi called Mir Javed a “very soft-spoken and nice man” in a condolence message over Twitter.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shah­baz Sharif remembered Mir Javed’s “services to country’s journalism” in his tweet and expressed “deepest condolen­ces to the bereaved family”.

Meanwhile, the All Pakis­tan Newspapers Society (APNS) expressed profound grief over the sad demise of Mir Javed.

In a statement, APNS pre­sident Hameed Haroon and secretary general Sarmad Ali, on behalf of the office-bearers and members of the society, expressed profound grief.

“Mir Javed Rahman’s jour­­­nalistic career stretched over half a century. He had been groomed by his late father the fabled Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman, from whom he got his journalistic vision and foresight. Mir Javed Rah­man worked tirelessly for the newspaper industry in his capacity as president, vice president and secretary general of the APNS,” said the statement.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2020