Ali Pir

Background

His father Pir Muhammad Hamid Shah lived at Bahman village, Ratodero Taluka, Larkana District, Sindh.

Education

He also studied English with Marmaduke Pickthall.

Career

He was from Rashdi Syed, those are calculated in Lakyari Syed"s branch. He was elder brother of scholar Pir Hassam-ud-Din Rashdi. Pir Shahab got his early education from Molvi Muhammad Soomar and Molvi Muhammad Sidiq.

He taught himself Persian, Urdu and English.

He started his career as a journalist for the Sindh News newspaper in 1924. He was appointed editor of First Rate (at Lloyd's) Rashid in 1928 at Sukkur.

He also served as editor of First Rate (at Lloyd's) Amin. He was appointed as the secretary of Mohammad Ayub Khuhro in 1927.

He started his own newspaper Sitar-e-Sindh in 1934.

He was also appointed the editor of the English-language newspaper Sindh Observer in 1948. He served as president of Pakistan Newspapers Editors Association. He was also struggled for the eviction Sindh from Bombay.

He was also considered among the founders of Sindh Ithad Party.

According to the late Yusuf Abdullah Haroon (elder statesman of Pakistan)Rashdi was involved in the drafting of the Pakistan Resolution of 1940 that is also known as the Lahore Resolution. After 1947 he was instrumental in the reinstatement of the Gaddi of Pir Pagara and ignored the Frontier Regulation.

In the era of Mohammad Ayub Khuhro he served as Minister of Health, Revenue and Information. He also served as Federal Minister for Information under Prime Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Ali and resigned in 1957.

He served as Pakistan"s ambassador in the Philippines from 1957 to 1961 and was Doyen of the diplomatic corps there.

He also served as ambassador in China for 10 months, during which he concluded negotiations for the border agreement between Pakistan and China that later on, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto signed on behalf of Pakistan. He went Hong Kong for trade and journalism. Rashdi wrote books in Sindhi, Urdu and English on politics, biographies, local issues and diaries.

Achievements

• He won the seat of Master of Public Administration in the Sindh Assembly in the election of 1953, and was appointed as Minister of Revenue.

Politics

Rashdi started his political career in 1926 by joining the Sindh Muhammadan Association. He joined the Peoples Party of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto in 1934.