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UNICEF mourns the passing of Mahbub Ul Haq

"Mahbub ul Haq was one of the century's most passionately original development thinkers and we are all of us the poorer for his passing," Ms. Bellamy said.

"As the architect of the Human Development Report, he created the standard against which development is assessed," the UNICEF chief said. "At the time of his death, he was continuing that tradition in collaboration with his wife, Khadija Khanum, with the Human Development Center for South Asia, whose reports had quickly become the benchmark for all regional and country reporting on social development.

"Whether in service to his country as Finance Minister, working at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, and as a thinker and writer, Mahbub ul Haq combined dazzling originality and eloquence with a fierce passion for justice, compassion and common sense.

"Relentless in his convictions, he never flagged in his determination to expose the folly of nations that squander their national treasure on weaponry when the same resources could be used to assuage the suffering and privation that causes conflict and social disintegration in the first place.

"Mahbub ul Haq was also a great friend of UNICEF, who had a deep understanding of the goals and targets of the World Summit for Children and referred to them often in his writings and public statements," Ms. Bellamy said.

"On behalf of the United Nations Children's Fund, I extend our deepest condolences to Mahbub ul Haq's wife and family for their loss. It is one in which the whole world shares."

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