Najam Sethi
Encyclopedia
Najam Sethi is an award-winning Pakistan
i journalist and the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a Lahore
-based political weekly. He was previously the editor of Daily Times and Daily Aajkal newspapers. He also hosts a popular political program in Urdu
, called Aapas ki Baat, on GEO News
. He has received is the only journalist in Asia to receive three international press freedom awards in a decade.
in 1967, where he was awarded the Presidents Gold Medal. He received a B.A. Honours degree in Economics from Cambridge University in 1970. He was awarded the Davies Prize by Clare College, where he later spent a year as a PhD research fellow.
who is Managing Editor of The Friday Times and Good Times. Their son Ali Sethi is a novelist and daughter Mira Sethi works at The Wall Street Journal
in New York.
Sethi was a political prisoner from 1975-1977 during the regime of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
for protesting military action in Balochistan
. In 1984, the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq put him in prison for one month for publishing “From Jinnah To Zia”, a book authored by the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
, Justice Mohammad Munir. The book was a sort of mea culpa in which the author had admitted his grave error in legitimizing the first martial law in Pakistan in 1958, thereby paving the way for Gen Zia’s martial law in 1977.
In 1999, he was again imprisoned by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
on charges of treason, believed to be due to the exposure of corruption in the Sharif family by The Friday Times. The Supreme Court of Pakistan
later rejected the charges and freed him after one month. The Sharif government issued dozens of income tax cases, accusing him of being a “non-Muslim” and tried to deprive him of his voting rights. These cases were dismissed by the courts and the his rights were restored by the Chief Election Commissioner.
Friday Times
Daily Times
AajKal
Beyond Borders
Dunya News
Geo/Jang Group
Wall Street Journal
Najam Sethi has occasionally written for the Wall St Journal and his daughter Mira Sethi is Asst Books Editor at the WSJ".
Death Threats
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i journalist and the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
-based political weekly. He was previously the editor of Daily Times and Daily Aajkal newspapers. He also hosts a popular political program in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, called Aapas ki Baat, on GEO News
GEO News
Geo News is a Karachi-based Pakistani news channel, fully owned and operated by Jang Group. The channel started its broadcasting in November 2005 and has millions of Urdu-language viewers around the world.- Popular Shows :...
. He has received is the only journalist in Asia to receive three international press freedom awards in a decade.
Education
Sethi graduated from Government College UniversityGovernment College University
Government College University, Lahore is a co-educational public university located on The Mall in Lahore, Pakistan...
in 1967, where he was awarded the Presidents Gold Medal. He received a B.A. Honours degree in Economics from Cambridge University in 1970. He was awarded the Davies Prize by Clare College, where he later spent a year as a PhD research fellow.
Personal life
Sethi was born in May, 1948. He is married to Jugnu MohsinJugnu Mohsin
Jugnu Mohsin is a Pakistani publisher and editor of the Lahore-based The Friday Times, Pakistan's first English-language independent newsweekly.-Background:...
who is Managing Editor of The Friday Times and Good Times. Their son Ali Sethi is a novelist and daughter Mira Sethi works at The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
in New York.
Sethi was a political prisoner from 1975-1977 during the regime of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
for protesting military action in Balochistan
Balochistan
Balochistan or Baluchistan is a region which covers parts of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. It can also refer to one of several modern and historical territories within that region:...
. In 1984, the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq put him in prison for one month for publishing “From Jinnah To Zia”, a book authored by the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
, Justice Mohammad Munir. The book was a sort of mea culpa in which the author had admitted his grave error in legitimizing the first martial law in Pakistan in 1958, thereby paving the way for Gen Zia’s martial law in 1977.
In 1999, he was again imprisoned by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
on charges of treason, believed to be due to the exposure of corruption in the Sharif family by The Friday Times. The Supreme Court of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
later rejected the charges and freed him after one month. The Sharif government issued dozens of income tax cases, accusing him of being a “non-Muslim” and tried to deprive him of his voting rights. These cases were dismissed by the courts and the his rights were restored by the Chief Election Commissioner.
Career
Vanguard Books- In 1978, he established Vanguard Books, an independent, liberal, publishing house, which has published over 400 titles since then in history, politics and economics.
Friday Times
- In 1989, along with his wife, he launched The Friday Times (TFT), an independent national weekly, which espouses secular internationalism, human rights, regional peace and democracy. Newsweek Magazine described him in the 1990s as a “crusading editor” for exposing corruption in government. He has unfailingly written the editorials of the paper every week since 1989.
Daily Times
- In 2002, he launched Daily Times. Its editorials constantly argued for peace with India, supported the war against Taliban-Al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
terror; and opposed religious fundamentalism and extremism.
AajKal
- In August 2008, he launched AajKal, a national Urdu daily, published from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. He resigned from both papers in October 2009 after disagreements with its management over various issues.
Beyond Borders
- In 2007, he set up Beyond Borders, a public interest production company for South Asia television channels. The mission statement of this project is to promote South Asian cultures, build confidence and trust; and sustain democracy, civil society and human rights in the region. The company has produced 13 short films on the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 based on the short stories of the grand literary masters of India and Pakistan. It has also produced a 13 part serial titled ROOTS, which is a compilation of interviews of famous Indians and Pakistanis who crossed over to the “other” country at the time of partition and have inspiring stories to tell of the warmth, love, humanity and affection of the “other” community.
Dunya News
- Mr. Sethi joined Dunya NewsDunya NewsDunya News is an Urdu language news and current affairs television channel from Pakistan. Dunya in English means "World". Since its launch in 2008, the channel have been giving strong competition to the other news channels in the country. Dunya News is now available throughout Pakistan on local...
in 2009 and hosted his program thrice a week.
Geo/Jang Group
- He joined the Geo/Jang Group in Jan 2011 as group adviser political affairs. He would host three weekly shows on Geo TV and write regular news analyses and commentary for Jang Group of Newspapers, including The News.
Wall Street Journal
Najam Sethi has occasionally written for the Wall St Journal and his daughter Mira Sethi is Asst Books Editor at the WSJ".
Death Threats
- In 2007-8, he received open death threats from the Taliban-Al Qaeda for supporting the war against terrorism. The Taliban’s mouthpiece in Waziristan did a cover story in which it identified Najam Sethi as an “enemy of Islam”. Radical Islamists demonstrated against his papers in Islamabad and openly called for his elimination.