desioptimist
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This blog entry is a tribute a leading journalist in pakistan (and also to independent pakistani journalists in general)
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Most Indians who want to know whats happening in Pakistan and what Pakistanis are saying about India intuitively visit the Dawn website. We come here to consume secular, progressive and balanced opinions on Pak and Indo-Pak issues. In comparison, few Indians have heard about a veteran Pakistani journalist called Najam Sethi. Pity! I say that because its time Indians wonder why we dont have an equivalent of Najam Sethi in our electronic media.
In case you havent heard about him, let me begin by telling you that Sethi has been imprisoned thrice by different Pakistani regimes. First, by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (for protesting against military action in Balochistan), then by General Zia ul Haq (for publishing a book by a former Chief Justice of the SC, Justice Mohammad Munir, in which he lamented his role in legitimizing the first martial government in Pakistan in 1958), and most recently, by the Nawaz Sharif government (on charges of treason).
Over the years, his critics have conferred many unflattering labels on Sethi. In the 70s or thereabouts, he was a Russian agent because he felt that Pakistans alliance with America was not in its best interests. Later, he was termed an Indian agent because he wanted peace with India and vociferously declared that India posed no security threat to Pakistan. In recent times, his views have made him an American agent.
A couple of years ago, Najam Sethi began appearing in a weekly dial-in Live television show in which all kinds of thorny issues are discussed. Which meant that, instead of writing for the English-speaking elite, he was now speaking in Urdu to millions of Pakistani citizens and expats. And what was he telling them?
Things, one would have thought, they did not want to hear, such as:
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Rest at
» Belligerence with a mission | Dawn Blog | Pakistan, Politics, Terrorism, Satire, Cricket, Culture, Food, Vlogs and more
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Most Indians who want to know whats happening in Pakistan and what Pakistanis are saying about India intuitively visit the Dawn website. We come here to consume secular, progressive and balanced opinions on Pak and Indo-Pak issues. In comparison, few Indians have heard about a veteran Pakistani journalist called Najam Sethi. Pity! I say that because its time Indians wonder why we dont have an equivalent of Najam Sethi in our electronic media.
In case you havent heard about him, let me begin by telling you that Sethi has been imprisoned thrice by different Pakistani regimes. First, by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (for protesting against military action in Balochistan), then by General Zia ul Haq (for publishing a book by a former Chief Justice of the SC, Justice Mohammad Munir, in which he lamented his role in legitimizing the first martial government in Pakistan in 1958), and most recently, by the Nawaz Sharif government (on charges of treason).
Over the years, his critics have conferred many unflattering labels on Sethi. In the 70s or thereabouts, he was a Russian agent because he felt that Pakistans alliance with America was not in its best interests. Later, he was termed an Indian agent because he wanted peace with India and vociferously declared that India posed no security threat to Pakistan. In recent times, his views have made him an American agent.
A couple of years ago, Najam Sethi began appearing in a weekly dial-in Live television show in which all kinds of thorny issues are discussed. Which meant that, instead of writing for the English-speaking elite, he was now speaking in Urdu to millions of Pakistani citizens and expats. And what was he telling them?
Things, one would have thought, they did not want to hear, such as:
------------
Rest at
» Belligerence with a mission | Dawn Blog | Pakistan, Politics, Terrorism, Satire, Cricket, Culture, Food, Vlogs and more
