Zahid Malik

On his demise, the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan (2016) came to his family for paying respects and said: "that it is not only the loss of your family, Zahid Malik's death is the loss of whole Muslim Ummah".

Malik supported the Palestine cause, as he believed that Palestine deserves equal rights for settlement as Israel. He held a round table conference on July 19, 2014 in which he highlighted the violation of human rights by Israel and how Palestinians were suffering.  The ambassador of Palestine to Pakistan was also invited as chief guest. His actions in support of Palestine were discussed in the United Nations General Assembly.

He also delivered over 100 lectures on various subjects to groups inside and outside Pakistan. He received the Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award in 2011. Pakistani EX-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over Mr Malik's demise and paid a rich tribute to him for his efforts towards press freedom.

Zahid Malik received a Sitara-i-Imtiaz on August 14, 2011 for his contributions towards journalism, the promotion of the ideology of Pakistan and writings about religion.

In 2005 Pakistan Observer decided to start an initiative to award those Muslim states that have been a role model for others in terms of good governance.

When he completed writing the Khan's biography, he was arrested on 6 August 1989 on charges of violation of the Official Secrets Act. His arrest caused outrage in international media and among political leaders, so he was released on bail on 22 August.

The Pakistan Observer was founded on 1 November 1988, as an English daily newspaper from Islamabad. It later became the only newspaper which was being published from six different stations, including Lahore and Karachi too.

A book by Malik on the subject of the Quran. Malik wanted to contribute something to muslim world, he thought what would be better than if the last book of almighty Allah is indexed properly in terms of topics and all the verses can be found in one place regarding that topic, after years of hard work and dedication, Malik in 1980 finally completed and published this book.

Malik considered himself a patriot, and only found himself at odds with his country on two occasions: once in 1971 when Bangladesh was separated from Pakistan, and again when he was arrested for writing the biography of Dr. A. Q. Khan, as he was wrongly being labelled as a traitor to the country (although he was officially pardoned by high court judge of that time).

Zahid Malik (October 5, 1937 – September 1, 2016), was a Pakistani journalist and writer, who was the founder and editor-in-chief of Pakistan Observer.

Born on October 5, 1937, in a small village of Sialkot District, Malik belonged to a well-educated family. After he completed his graduation from Jinnah Islamia College Sialkot, Malik started his career as a civil servant. After his retirement as a joint secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Malik launched a monthly Urdu news and views magazine Hurmat in 1980 and later started the English language daily Pakistan Observer. He was the Editor-in-Chief and publisher of the newspaper.