M. A. Zuberi was a pioneer in economic journalism in Pakistan. At a time when economics was not very much in fashion in public discourse Mr Zuberi took the plunge and introduced Business Recorder - the first financial and economic daily of Pakistan. He set in motion the trend of evidence based analysis of economic issues facing Pakistan and incorporated them in his editorials.
Business Recorder under his leadership was fierce in criticism of the wrong policies and wrong actions irrespective of the fact as to who was in power. His outspokenness and the habit of calling a spade a spade had endeared him not only to his readers but paradoxically to the policy makers. Mr Zuberi enjoyed a lot of respect from almost all the Finance Ministers, Governors of State Bank and Finance Secretaries but he never misused his connections and access for personal benefits - a trait quite rare these days.
One of the many reasons my admiration for Mr Zuberi has remained unabated is his and Business Recorder's consistent advocacy of private sector being the engine of growth. At a time when nationalisation and public sector expansion were the buzzwords his courageous pieces on privatisation and private sector development kept the debate open. At the height of the socialist regime in Pakistan, he wrote on July 21, 1972; " The newest and the proved variety would require that private enterprise be encouraged as a matter of settled policy. As long as this is not seen to be the case, we shall be fumbling and the wrong elements will be blasting through turmoil and distress to create the set of conditions akin to anarchy and sabotage as we have seen." It is now common knowledge that not only in Pakistan but in most developing countries (barring a few) public sector enterprises have miserably failed in delivering goods and services, increasing productivity or contributing to growth and poverty alleviation. On the contrary they have strained public finances, become a source of unproductive employment and crowded out investment in education, health and other basic services. Even when privatisation has become unpopular today Business Recorder has always held on to its principled position.
Little is known about his entrepreneurial and risk taking skills compared to his writing skills. The large media house that he has left behind owes a great deal to the hard work of his sons but the initial action of starting a specialised newspaper was his own. Quitting a well paying and respected position in an esteemed organisation and venturing into an unknown territory was something for which we owe him our gratitude. Many others have tried to step in his shoes over the last few decades but none has been successful in breaking the strong hold of Business Recorder. The addition of Aaj TV channel with the emphasis on political, business and economic coverage is a welcome step and hope this can survive against the onslaught of competition for viewership.
A number of economic journalists - a loosely defined profession - were trained by Mr Zuberi at his newspaper directly or have learnt the tricks of the trade indirectly from him. The culling and separation of economic reporting from other types of reporting in Pakistan owes a lot to him. I wish there were more M.A. Zuberis in this country to nurture and groom young professionals in the art of economic reporting and analysis. It is a pity that the glamour of political analysis glorified by our electronic media is gradually sucking in some of our talented economic journalists and adding to the desertification of the field of serious economic journalism. On a personal note I benefited a lot from my discussions on economic issues with him although in retrospect I wish I could have spent more time with him.