THOSE involved like me in its launching in 1962 must feel sad over the closure of Daily News, Karachi\u2019s last English language evening paper. The battery of journalists working for the paper at its launch ranged from seasoned newsmen to juniors and apprentice, but at least one of them would rise to become an icon in his lifetime \u2014 Zamir Niazi. His book, Press in Chain, is a primary read for scholars doing research on the history of journalism in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

The man behind the venture, the Jang group\u2019s Daily News, was Shamim Ahmad, an institution in himself, then a senior correspondent at Dawn. I was then a junior sub-editor and was surprised when Shamim asked me whether I wanted a job on a higher salary. Who wouldn\u2019t?<\/p>\n

\u201cIs the party sound?\u201d I asked. \u201cYes\u201d, he said, \u201cmore sound than you could think.\u201d He then asked me to be there at a given room in Bombay Hotel on McLeod (now I. I. Chundrigar) Road. When I reached rendezvous I was surprised to find quite a few Dawn men there, including Khawaja Ibtisam Ahmad and Salman Meenai. The latter would return to Dawn and retire in the first decade of this century. Another DN staff member was Habibullah Farooqi, who later became PTV General Manager.<\/p>\n

Ibtisam was six-foot plus tall and had passed the superior services exam to join the police service as Assistant Superintendent of Police. In less than a year he found he didn\u2019t fit in there, resigned, returned to Karachi and joined the now defunct weekly The Statesman, owned by the Pir of Pagara, as a proofreader on a salary of Rs60.<\/p>\n

When launched Daily News became Karachi\u2019s fourth English language \u2018eveninger\u2019. The first English language evening paper was, of course, the Dawn group\u2019s Evening Star (renamed The Star in the \u201970s). Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Bogra called it Dawn\u2019s beta (son), priced at one anna. Working for Dawn meant labouring for Evening Star, too, for it was Dawn\u2019s morning shift that edited it.<\/p>\n

Another evening paper was the Matri group\u2019s Leader, its main attraction being Sultan Ahmad\u2019s column, \u2018Rambler\u2019s Diary\u2019. Also in the field were H. M. Abbasi\u2019s Current and The Sentinel, owned by the group which had begun Pakistan\u2019s first non-official news agency \u2014 Pakistan Press Association \u2014 now Pakistan Press International, founded by Moazzam Ali. The Sentinel\u2019s editor was Huzoor Ahmad Shah, who later joined Dawn and became City Editor.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s newspaper industry was about to expand, for Ayub Khan\u2019s Pakistan was booming, and all journalists eagerly awaited Daily News. I remember the banner headline of the first issue, \u2018Shafi Okarvi knifed\u2019. The story was by an apprentice, S. M. Fazal, who rose to become its editor in 1990 and remained so till Saturday.<\/p>\n

One striking feature of Daily News was the green colour of its lead headline. Because of the contrast with the other papers it attracted attention. Karachi was then a middle class city, with the highest literacy rate in the country. It was indeed a measure of the kind of society Karachi was that the evening papers were in great demand. As I journeyed home after Evening Star had been printed, I would find people in buses reading it and commenting \u2014 scenes hard to visualise today.<\/p>\n

I quit Daily News within a few months and Shamim followed me over policy differences with the proprietors. He would return to Dawn in 1966, leave it again on the eve of the 1970 general election and found another paper, this time a morning daily, The Sun, owned by the Laris. He dragged me into this new venture, too.<\/p>\n

Zamir Siddiqi, who replaced Shamim as editor, was forced to resign because of a news item Ayub\u2019s information czar didn\u2019t like. The editors that followed included Wajid Shamsul Hassan, who quit in 1989 to become chairman of the National Press Trust and later High Commissioner to Britain. Fazal became editor in 1990. Others who were editor after Wajid\u2019s departure included Abdul Hameed Chhapra and Mohammad Jami.<\/p>\n

I asked Fazal, a fellow KU political science colleague, how he felt about DN\u2019s closure. He said: \u201cI feel very sad. A paper that was so popular was wound up so unceremoniously.\u201d His paper, he said, had some great columnists \u2014 H. M. Abbasi (\u2018Over a Cup of Tea\u2019), Dr G. M. Mehkri, Major Ibnul Hassan, Mazhar Yusuf and Ghulam Jilanee.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was sudden and unceremonious\u201d, said Fazal. On Monday morning \u201cI and the staff, a mere 10, came as usual to begin work, but were officially informed of the decision\u201d: Daily News was to be closed.<\/p>\n

Dawn\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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