A 534 page book Altaf-e-Sahafat, compiled by Dr Tahir Masud highlighting contribution of trend setter journalist, editor, interviewer, thinker and fearless islamist intellectual and publisher. 87 year old Altaf Hasan Qureshi to journalism profession as an icon and institution for past 58 years in Pakistan has hit the stalls. The book includes articles written by Pakistan's 70 prolific writers like Mushtaq Ahmad Yousufi, Zameer Jafri, Maulana Hamid Ali Khan, Col. Muhammad Khan (retd), Begum Akhtar Riazuddin, Dr Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, Ataul Haq Qasmi, Mujibur Rehman Shami, Muhammad Izharul Haque, Mushkoor Husain Yad. Prominent politicians, S.M. Zafar, Javed Hashmi, scientist Dr A.Q Khan, writer Bushra Rehman, Arif Nizami and others.

Credit goes to Qureshi for training / introducing such well known journalists including late Maulana Salauddein, Mujibur Rehman Shami, Sajjad Mir, Zia Shahid, Irshad Arif, Saud Sahir, Haroon Rashid, Amir Khakwani, Assadullah Ghalib, Rauf Tahir, Mohsin Farani, Mukhtar Hasan, Naseer Ahmad Saleemi, Dr Shafiq Jhallandri, Malik Mumtaz Iqbal, Zaheer Ahmad and Munir Ahmad Munir.

During his long eventful career Altaf Hasan Qureshi and his elder brother Aijaz Hasan Qureshi published monthly Urdu Digest, weekly Zindagi and daily newspaper Jassarat during an era of ideological conflict between rightists and leftists. Qureshi brothers raised a crop of rightists' journalists to fight against communism, socialism and liberalism during 60s', 70s' and 80s'. The two brothers several times went to jail during 60s' and 70's on account of their writings.

Late courageous journalist Maulana Salahuddin Ahmad, Mujibur Rehman Shami, Abad Shah Puri, Maqbool jahangir, Zia Shahid, Mohsen Farani, Syed Asim Mahmood and Akhtar Abbas worked as their assistant editors.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019