Muhammad Abdul Shakoor

M. A. Shakoor
M. A. Shakoor in the 1990s
Born	November 1911 Travancore Princely State, Madras Presidency, British India
Died	January 2001 Karachi, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani, British
Spouse(s)	Akhtar Quraishi
Parent(s)	Mariyam Beevi (Mother) Muhammad Kunju (Father)

M. A. Shakoor (born Muhammad Abdul Shakoor; Malayalam: മുഹമ്മദ് അബ്ദുൽ ഷക്കൂർ; November 1911 – January 2001) was an Indian born Pakistani journalist who worked as the senior most Assistant Editor of Dawn and the London Correspondent of the Pakistan Times.

Shakoor was born in November 1911, into a prominent and influential Muslim family Poonthran. Shakoor was the first of four children born to Muhammad Kunju Kayalpuram and Mariyam Beevi. He had one brother: Abdul Shakir and two sisters: Dr. Rahma and Hasana. His uncle, Vakkom Moulavi, was a visionary, social reformer, scholar, educationist, writer, journalist and the founder of Swadeshabhimani newspaper. His father, Muhammad Kunju Kayalpuram, was a writer, Muslim scholar and the publisher of the cultural journal "Muslim" brought out by Vakkom Moulavi. Shakoor matriculated in Trivandrum and graduated in first division from the University of Madras. He joined the Aligarh Muslim University in 1939 and did his MA in English literature in first division and also obtained a law degree.

After doing a short course in journalism at the Aligarh University, he joined the 'Orient Press of India,' the first Muslim news agency in the subcontinent, in 1942. In October of the same year, he joined Dawn on the advice of Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan. He had served as the editorial staff of Dawn, Delhi under the editorship of Pothan Joseph. Two year later, in 1944, he left Dawn and joined as the Assistant Editor with the Morning News, Calcutta. Seven months later, in 1945 he joined the 'Statesman' as the Subeditor. In 1946, Shakoor brought out his own daily ‘Comrade’, which could not survive beyond a few months for lack of finances. When Progressive Papers Ltd in Lahore launched the daily 'Pakistan Times', he was invited to work for it. Shortly thereafter, he came over to Karachi to join the 'Pakistan Herald.' The daily was soon renamed Dawn and he served it till 1954, his longest stint in any particular news organization.