Mr Ahmad Ali Khan, who retired as Chief Editor in March 2000, has taken over as Editor-in-Chief of Dawn with effect from Jan 22, 2003, according to an announcement made on Wednesday by Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt) Ltd., owners of the Dawn group of newspapers.

Mr Saleem Asmi, the outgoing Editor, has been appointed editor for the UK and European region of the newspaper.

Said a PHPL spokesperson: “We are delighted to welcome Mr Khan back to Dawn. He has not only been a major figure in the newspaper’s development since its early days in Delhi; he has played a pivotal role in making Dawn one of the most respected dailies of South Asia.

“The outgoing editor, Mr Asmi, will be based in London and will be entrusted with the critical task of satisfying the news requirements of the paper’s potential readership in Britain and Europe.”

The spokesperson praised Mr Asmi’s contribution to the genesis and publication of Dawn’s Islamabad edition and the major role he played in launching the paper’s three additional weeklies — Books and Authors, The Gallery and ScienceDotcom.