KARACHI, Dec 12: Veteran journalist M.A. Zuberi, the founder of Business Recorder, died here on Sunday. He was 90.

Mr Zuberi had also worked for Dawn for 20 years in different capacities.

His Namaz-i-Janaza will be offered at Masjid Noor-ul-Islam, Zamzama Park, Clifton, after Zuhr prayers on Monday.

He will be laid to rest in the compound of the Mazar of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi at Clifton.

He has left behind three sons and two daughters, and a number of grand- and great-grand children.

Mr Zuberi, who was also Patron-in-Chief of the TV channel Aaj News, was acknowledged as a pioneer of economic and financial journalism in the country.

He was born in Merehra (UP), India, on July 2, 1920. He began his career in journalism in Dec 1945 with Dawn, Delhi, to honour the wishes of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

When Dawn started publication from Karachi after the creation of Pakistan,  Mr Zuberi started working with the newspaper as a senior sub-editor.

He launched the Evening Star, a sister publication of  Dawn, Karachi. He retired from Dawn after a 20-year-long association to concentrate his energies on the fulfillment of a lifelong dream — the launch of a financial newspaper.

This materialised in 1965 in the shape of Business Recorder, which was the country’s first newspaper dedicated to matters of finance and economy.

The business community lapped up the newspaper, later contributing to its growth.

M.A. Zuberi was also a founding member, and later president, of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors.

He had the distinction of representing Pakistan at different international forums, including annual meetings of the Commonwealth Press Union, United Nations, and World Bank.

The government conferred Sitara-i-Imtiaz in recognition of his accomplishments.

CONDOLENCE: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has condoled the death of M. A. Zuberi and lauded his contribution to journalism.