Mahmoud A Haroon: an obituary

Mahmoud A Haroon died on Thursday; he was 88. He leaves behind a daughter Ambar Haroon Saigol. Mahmoud had served as Mayor of Karachi, twice as governor of Sindh, a minister in the West Pakistan cabinet and minister of commerce, minister of interior and minister of defence in various periods of the country's history.
The son of noted Pakistan Movement leader Haji Sir Abdullah Haroon and younger brother of veteran politician Yousuf A Haroon, Mahmoud also participated in the struggle for independence at a young age. He earned the honour of becoming the ADC to the Quaid at the age of 17. Mahmoud was once considered a close confidant of Ayub Khan.
In the words of Gohar Ayub, Ayub's son, once his father told him that he was grooming Bhutto and Mahmoud, when he informed him that his ministers felt that he was a banyan tree and that he should nominate a successor. However, Mahmoud earned Ayub's ire later. Having become a minister in the West Pakistan government, he had to vacate his National Assembly seat which he had won from Karachi-IV or Lyari.
When the by-elections were held, it was widely believed, Haroons in particular supported Ghous Bux Bizenjo against the Convention Muslim League candidate, Habibullah Piracha. Bizenjo, who became governor of Balochistan during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government, defeated Piracha by a huge margin. Not only did this development cause a serious rift between the Haroons and Ayub, it also led to the sacking of Governor Kalabagh, who too had played a key role in the defeat of the government candidate.
Mahmoud had to live in exile in London for three years following the Fall of Dacca and Bhutto's growing hostility towards him. He eventually made peace with Bhutto after the death of his daughter, Nazafreen, in her prime. A staunch Muslim Leaguer, a thorough gentleman and a true Pakistani, Mahmoud was considered a man of superior talents and great integrity.
A shrewd politician with a humble disposition, Mahmoud will be remembered for the role he played in strengthening Pakistan's relations with various Islamic countries. In addition to the successful launch of a newspaper from Dubai, Khaleej Times, in the late 1970s, Mahmoud will be credited with highly efficient management of the daily Dawn turning it into one of the most important publications of South Asia.