Altaf Gauhar facts for kids

Altaf Gauhar (born March 17, 1923 – died November 14, 2000) was a very important person in Pakistan. He worked as a civil servant, a journalist, a poet, and a writer. He was known for being very close to Pakistan's first military leader, Ayub Khan. Some people even said he was like Khan's main advisor.

Early Life and Education

Altaf Gauhar was born in a city called Gujranwala on March 17, 1923. His family belonged to the Rajput-Janjua group. He studied English literature at the Government College University, Lahore, which is a famous university in Pakistan.

Working as a Civil Servant

Altaf Gauhar joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1948. This meant he worked for the government. He started his career at the State Bank of Pakistan. He quickly moved up and became the Information Secretary for the Government of Pakistan when he was only 39 years old. This was a very high position.

During his time as Information Secretary, some strict laws about the press (newspapers and media) were passed. Altaf Gauhar later said he was sorry for these laws.

He was a very good writer and became a close advisor to President Ayub Khan. People even called him the "de facto vice president" of Pakistan because he was so influential. He helped President Ayub Khan write his autobiography, a book about his own life, called Friends Not Masters. This book was published in 1967.

After Ayub Khan passed away, Altaf Gauhar wrote another book about him called Ayub Khan: Pakistan's First Military Ruler. This book shared a different view of Ayub Khan. Before Ayub Khan left power, he gave Altaf Gauhar a high award called the Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam.

Later, when Yahya Khan became president, Altaf Gauhar faced some challenges. He was moved to a much lower position and eventually lost his job. All the awards he had received were also taken away.

After Government Service

After leaving the civil service in 1969, Altaf Gauhar became the editor of a well-known Pakistani newspaper called Dawn. Later, when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was in charge, Altaf Gauhar was put in jail for a time.

While he was in jail, he spent a lot of time studying the Quran, which is the holy book of Islam. He later made several important translations of the Quran. He completed his last translation shortly before he died, even though he was very ill.

After he was released from prison, he left Dawn and moved to London. There, he started new magazines like Third World Review and Third World Quarterly. He also launched South magazine and created the Third World Foundation. These publications focused on issues important to developing countries.

Later, he returned to Pakistan and continued his work in journalism. He became the editor-in-chief of another newspaper called The Muslim.

Later Years and Death

In his later years, Altaf Gauhar mostly wrote occasional columns for The Muslim newspaper. However, he left the newspaper when its editor was fired. In Pakistan, after his death, he was remembered as a very important Pakistani who understood power and how it could be used.

Altaf Gauhar passed away from cancer on November 14, 2000. He was 77 years old.