Ali Muhammad Rashdi ( (1905–1987) was a Pakistani

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, journalist, politician, parliamentarian, and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. Notably, he served as

Pakistan's Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nat ...

ambassador to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from 1957 to 1961 and to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

from 1961 to 1962. Rashdi also held ministerial positions in

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

and served as the central minister for information and broadcasting. He was the elder brother of scholar

Hassam-ud-Din Rashidi Hassam-ud-Din Rashidi (; September 20, 1911 – April 1, 1982) was a Sindhi historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, met ...

Early life

Rashidi's father Muhammad Hamid Shah lived in Bahman village,

Ratodero Taluka Ratodero Tehsil () is a tehsil, located in the Larkana District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is about 28 km from the district capital Larkana. Before the partition of India, the city had a special reputation for its sweet products. ...

Larkana Larkana (; ) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Mohenjo-daro. The historic Indus River flows in east and south of the ci ...

District, Sindh. Rashidi got his early education from Muhammad Soomar and Muhammad Sidiq. He taught himself

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. He also studied English with Marmaduke Pickthall.

Career

Rashidi started his career as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for the ''Sindh News'' newspaper in 1924. He was appointed as the secretary of Mohammad Ayub Khuhro in 1927. He was appointed editor of ''Al Rashid'' in 1928 at

Sukkur Sukkur is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the List of cities in Sindh by population, third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and H ...

. He served as editor of ''Al Amin''. He started the newspaper ''Sitar-e-Sindh'' in 1934. In 1948, he became the editor of the English-language newspaper ''Sindh Observer''. He served as the president of the Pakistan Newspapers Editors Association.

Politics

Rashidi's political career began in 1926 when he joined the Sindh Muhammadan Association where he fought for the election of Sindh in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. In 1934 he joined the Peoples Party of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto. He joined the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties British India *All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above **Unionist Muslim L ...

in 1938 where he supported the Pakistani cause for independence by holding the positions of Secretary of the Sindh Provincial Muslim League and Secretary of the Foreign Committee. According to the late Yusuf Abdullah Haroon (an elder statesman of Pakistan), Rashidi was involved in the drafting of the Pakistan Resolution of 1940, also known as the Lahore Resolution. After 1947, he was instrumental in reinstating the Gaddi of

Pir Pagara Sayyid Shah Mardan Shah-II () widely known as Pir of Pagaro VII (, ; 22 November 1928 – 10 January 2012) was the spiritual leader of Hurs and president of political party Pakistan Muslim League (F). He was commonly known in Pakistan as ''Pir ...

while ignoring the Frontier Regulation. He was elected

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * M ...

in the

Sindh Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Sindh is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, its provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan ...

in the election of 1953, thereafter appointed Minister of Revenue. In the era of Mohammad Ayub Khuhro, he served as the Minister of Health, Revenue and Information. He also served as the Federal Minister for Information under Prime Minister

Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Chaudhri Muhammad Ali (15 July 1905 – 2 December 1982) was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fourth prime minister of Pakistan from 1955 until his resignation in 1956. His government transitioned Pakistan from a British ...

Diplomat and author

He served as Pakistan's ambassador to the

from 1957 to 1961. He also served as the Ambassador to China for 10 months, during which he concluded negotiations for a border agreement between Pakistan and China that

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

later signed on behalf of Pakistan. His work and journalism also took him to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Rashidi wrote books in Sindhi,

and

on politics, biographies, local issues and diaries.

Family

Pir Hussain Shah Rashdi (Son)

Selected publications

* ''Uhee Denhin Uhee Shenih'' (3 volumes) * ''Jager Dari Jo Khatimo'' * ''Sindh jee Nain Wizarat'' * ''Boodin Ja Imdadi Masla'' * ''Cheen jee'' (diary) * ''Imam Inqlaab'' * ''Sindh Ways and Days''

References

* ''Janab guzaryum jin sein'' By G. M. Syed * ''Maro jee Malir Ja'' By Khadim Hussain Chandio {{DEFAULTSORT:Rashidi, Ali Muhammad 1905 births 1987 deaths Pakistani MNAs 1955–1958 Pakistani Muslims People from Larkana District English-language writers from Pakistan Writers from Karachi Journalists from Karachi Pakistani newspaper editors Ambassadors of Pakistan to China Ambassadors of Pakistan to the Philippines All-India Muslim League politicians Pakistan Movement activists from Sindh Scholars from Sindh Pakistani scholars