'I remember my dad coming home with the first copy of KT'

Dubai - Reading KT has become a daily habit for Mohammed, who moved to the UAE about 42 years ago.

Pakistani expat Tariq Mohammed's association with Khaleej Times began from day one, quite Back in the day, when KT, the first English newspaper in the UAE, hit the stands on April 16, 1978, Mohammed's family made sure they got a copy at home.
"I remember my dad coming home with the first copy of KT, very excited about the launch of an English newspaper in the country," says Mohammed, who moved to the UAE about 42 years ago to join his parents who were working in Abu Dhabi. He works as an accountant manager in Abu Dhabi.
"The whole Indian and Pakistani community was in the throes of excitement as they could read many stories from the subcontinent in KT."
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"I was ten years old at that time, and could read well. Though I did not particularly care about the news, the kids' section that came out, with lots of pictures, was my favourite," said Mohammed.
He has fond memories of his father reading the papers and explaining the important news of the day," said Mohammed, who is now married with two children of his own.
The paper was being circulated in homes and offices for free during the first month of the launch
"And as a little boy, I would wait at home for my father to return so that I could sit by his side in the chair and go over KT's Young Times."
He said when he came to the UAE, he was enrolled in a school in Abu Dhabi where he completed his primary education and lower secondary classes. Mohammed then went back to Pakistani where he completed high school, and got a degree in accounts at the university there.
"But my early days in the UAE as a young man weren't so great because I didn't have many friends to play with. All my childhood friends were back home and I always wanted to travel back to Pakistan during school holidays since I missed them."
But the launch of KT, the first English newspaper in the UAE, excited him and his family members as he would now spend a large part of his evenings with his dad going through the paper.
Since then, reading KT has become a daily habit for Mohammed, and he has been receiving a copy of the newspaper daily.
When he returned from Pakistan in 1988 after his studies, he says, he got an auditing job with an Abu Dhabi firm before switching to his current employment as the accounts and administration manager at Motivate Publishing, where he has worked for 27 years.
"Khaleej Times has been my favourite newspaper since childhood. Even later, when other newspapers entered the market, my loyalties remained firmly with the paper. It had become part of me and my life. "The paper is always a good read from the local section to the Sport pages. I like the language of the writers."
Mohammed said sometimes he has a busy schedule but he's able to spare some 40 minutes to an hour daily and goes through the newspaper to keep up with current issues and also entertainment news.
"Although I always prefer to read a story in print, sometimes I log on to the website, especially for the breaking news online," he said.
"My favourite section is sports. I love cricket and the paper gives the sport great coverage, especially during the World Cup."
The Pakistani says he's seen Khaleej Times change and evolve over the years and he's noticed a change in the paper's size from a broadsheet to a narrower size. "I like the paper's current size. It's readable and more convenient to hold," he said.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE