Veteran journalist and former Dawn staff Muhammad Ziauddin passed away on Monday in Islamabad after a period of prolonged illness. He was 83.
State broadcaster Pakistan Television confirmed the news while paying homage to the deceased for his “illustrious career” that spanned 60 years and included extensive contributions for various media outlets such as The News International, Dawn and The Express Tribune among others. He was also Dawn’s former resident editor in Islamabad.
M. Ziauddin earned a Masters degree in Journalism from Karachi University in 1964. The same year he made his entry in the profession in Pakistan Press International.
He then joined Dawn, which formed his longest association, serving as a resident editor for Islamabad and Lahore. He was also the paper’s correspondent in London from 2006 to 2009.
Among his other experience in the field, he served as the assistant secretary general for the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and as the president of the South Asia Free Media Association from 2002 to 2006.
Condolences poured in from the country’s journalism and media community, with various figures paying their tributes.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.