Mushahid Hussain Syed ( Punjabi, ur, مشاہد حسین سید‬; b. 1953) is a Pakistani politician, and journalist who is currently the Pakistan Senator from the

Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory ( ur, , translit=Vafāqī Dār-alhakūmat) is the only federal territory of Pakistan. Located between the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it includes the country's capital city of Islamabad. The terr ...

on the platform of the

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...

, since 3 March 2018. A

political journalist Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power. Political journa ...

by profession, Hussain briefly served in the

Sharif Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, fr ...

administrations in 1990s and is known for his political positions that reflects the

national conservatism National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...

towards supporting the idea of civilian control of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. After playing a crucial role in the support of the decision-making towards the nuclear weapons-testing in response to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

's in 1998, Hussain's tenure was abrupted by the staged martial law by Chairman joint chiefs Gen.

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

and was held in prison on treason conspiracy in 1999. In 2003, he later defected to the forward block supporting the

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

and was elected the Pakistan Senator of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Despite his support for the

PML(Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a re ...

, the forward block supporting Musharraf for several years, Hussain remained sympathetics towards the PML(N) and eventually joined his original party after being ousted by the forward block in 2016. He is known as a proponent for strengthening the

foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through mu ...

with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, having served the Chairman of the China-Pakistan Institute, a lobbying firm based in Islamabad.

Biography

Early life and career in journalism

Mushahid Hussain Syed was born in

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

into a Military Punjabi family on 2 November 1952. His father, Amjad Hussain Syed, was an

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...

in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, retiring with rank of

army colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

; his mother, Sameen Sayed, was a social activist. Hussain is the third oldest of four children, and both his parents were the

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

in the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...

prior to 1947. His mother, Sameen, died at the age of 83 in 2010. After his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, Hussain went to attend the

Forman Christian College University Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum. Founded in 1864 by American ...

, where he graduated with

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

in 1974. During this time, he went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

under the

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to attend the

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at both ...

of the

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

and graduated with the

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

foreign service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

, and briefly interned at the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. While studying in the United States, he was president of the Pakistan Students Association and was awarded a Congressional Internship to work in the United States Congress. After completing his education, Hussain returned to

and joined the directing Staff of the

Administrative Staff College Henley Business School is a business school which now forms part of the University of Reading. It was formed by merging the previously independent Henley Management College (formerly the Administrative Staff College) with the existing business ...

in Lahore to instruct courses on

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

to the civil servants prior to their joining of the Pakistan Foreign Service. He also served as the

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

on the topics of

at the Punjab University but was terminated from his employment when he spoke on a rally to oppose the martial law government in October 1979. After his termination, he begin writing syndicated political columns on conservatism and joined the English daily ''The Muslim'', of which, he became its

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

in 1982. He also joined

The Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

where he wrote the syndicated column. In 1983, he joined the Non-Aligned News Agencies which he co-chaired in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. In 1985–86, Hussain had established himself as a journalist and had enjoyed considerable fame when he wrote articles on politics and security. In 1988, he reportedly lost his job as a journalist when he published an interview in ''The Muslim'' on the issue of the country's covert atomic bomb program when President Zia-ul-Haq froze the funding of the news correspondent

Authorship

Hussain also written three political books covering the issues of

civilian control of the military Civilian control of the military is a doctrine in military and political science that places ultimate responsibility for a country's strategic decision-making in the hands of the civilian political leadership, rather than professional militar ...

geostrategy Geostrategy, a subfield of geopolitics, is a type of foreign policy guided principally by geography, geographical factors as they inform, constrain, or affect political and military planning. As with all strategy, strategies, geostrategy is concer ...

, and governance. * * *

Public service in Pakistan

Information minister in Sharif administrations and imprisonment

After covering the nationwide

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held in 1990, Hussain joined the IDA government led by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

and was inducted as an adviser on External Publicity and Foreign Affairs in the first administration, which he served until 1993. He advised the Prime Minister Sharif on the issues relating to the foreign relations with the

, and the geostrategy in

, and was later elevated as the Minister of Communications. In 1994, he was appointed as the information secretary of the PML(N) while he continued to write columns and articles on the issue of

and security in country's major news and political correspondents. In 1997, he played a crucial role in the managing the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

of the election campaign of Nawaz Sharif in

held in 1997, and reportedly quoted in favor of Nawaz Sharif: "''Nawaz will be the Erbakan of Pakistan''." He participated and defended the NA-125 constituency based on

and was elected as the member of national assembly on the platform of the

whereas joining the Prime Minister Sharif's second administration as the

Information Minister An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

in his cabinet. In 1998, when

Indian Prime Minister The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

ordered the

nuclear tests Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, Hussain was the first cabinet minister who spoke in the favor of conducting the reciprocated

nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

s during the decision-making process. Hussain was reportedly known in the political circles as a "

War hawk In politics, a war hawk, or simply hawk, is someone who favors war or continuing to escalate an existing conflict as opposed to other solutions. War hawks are the opposite of doves. The terms are derived by analogy with the birds of the same name ...

." He repeatedly praised Prime Minister Sharif on various public convention of authorizing the nuclear testing program to counter the India's aggression in the region to ensure the

mutual assured destruction Mutual assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would cause the ...

to India in case of a war. He later went onto speak on the

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

, and the

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and television network. Created by Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Face the Nation'' is one of the longest-running news programs in the history o ...

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

to defend the decision to conduct nuclear tests. In 1998, he supported the Prime Minister Sharif's relief of commission of Gen.

Jehangir Karamat General Jehangir Karamat ( ur, ; born 20 February 1941) best known as JK, is a senior Pakistan Army officer who served as the 6th Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, from 12 January 1996 to 6 October 1998. diplomat, public intellectual, ...

as the Chairman joint chiefs, which he viewed as vital for government's civilian control of the

at that time. About the

Kargil war The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

, he reportedly spoke in favor of the conflict and reportedly noted in the televised press conference: bitter fighting has "internationalized Kashmir", and hence was worth the loss of life suffered by the Pakistan Army as well as the Kashmiri freedom fighters involved. In 1999, his tenure was abrupted when Chairman joint chiefs Gen.

staged a martial law against the elected civilian government, and placed him trial that sentenced him on a

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

on a conspiracy of treason; he was declared as the prisoner of conscience. In 2000–01, he voiced for the civilian control of the military and the called for the support for the democratic movements in an opined article which ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' profiled him as: "Pakistan Keeps Gag on Former Spokesman."

PML(Q)'s secretary and presidential campaign in 2008

In 2003, Hussain agreed upon a deal with the Musharraf administration and joined the forward block, the

, led by Shujaat Hussain and ultimately ran for the senate elections held in 2002. His decision to defect against the

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

lost the credibility that he had built over the several decades as a "respected journalist and disciplined politician", and was received severe public criticism from news correspondents of defending the Musharraf's

while serving as sitting army chief. His credibility was greatly questioned in an editorial written in ''Dawn'', the political correspondent, where Ziauddin claimed that Hussain filed for "nomination papers for the Senate elections reportedly with a letter of recommendation from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

" In 2004, he joined the taskforce as the President Musharraf's special envoy to begin negotiate with the Baloch political leader

Akbar Bugti Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti ( Balochi, Urdu: ; 12 July 1927 – 26 August 2006) was a Pakistani politician and the Tumandar (head) of the Bugti tribe of Baloch people who served as the Minister of State for Interior and Governor of Balochis ...

, an ally of

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

, which eventually failed. he further earned notoriety when he was part of the same government which was eventually implicated in the Bugti's killing. After the resignation of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, Hussain earned the nomination from the

PML-Q The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a re ...

to run his presidential campaign during the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

held in 2008. Hussain eventually lost the presidential elections with the largest margin, receiving only 44 votes out of 700 from the Electoral College as opposed top

Asif Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakista ...

(409/700) and S.Z. Siddiqui (216/700). After

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

as Pakistan Senator from

in 2012, Hussain came under severe public criticism when it was reported that he only paid ₨. 82. ( US¢ 0.82) in filing the

tax returns A tax return is the completion of documentation that calculates an entity or individual's income earned and the amount of taxes to be paid to the government or government organizations or, potentially, back to the taxpayer. Taxation is one of ...

, and was called as a tax evader by various news correspondents. On 4 June 2012, Hussain was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Senate Defence Committee chairman.

Rejoining PML(N) and Pakistan Senator

In October 2016,

appointed Hussain and Shizra Khan as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on unrest in Kashmir and went to attend the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

, where he termed the violation of the

Indus Waters Treaty The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, arranged and negotiated by the World Bank, to use the water available in the Indus River and its tributaries. It was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 ...

as "an act of war." He viewed the initiation of the strategic corridor as a crucial and one of the largest political achievement of Prime Minister Sharif, and has risen a strong political voice in support Prime Minister Sharif's economic policy. On 3 January 2017, the

ousted Hussain from the party due to his "tacit alignment" and support for the PML(N)'s cause. On 4 February 2018, he rejoined the PML(N) and spoke very high of Nawaz's services to the country. In 2018, he was elected as the Pakistan Senator from Federally Administrated Triabal Areas on the platform of PML(N) after participating in the senator elections held in March 2018.

Lobbyist and Sinologist

On 1 October 2009, Hussain founded the Pakistan China Institute to promote the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

with China. He has consistently lobbied for strengthening the relations with

and the

n republics.

References

External links

Political Biography of Mushahid Hussain Syed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Mushahid 1953 births St. Anthony's High School, Lahore alumni Forman Christian College alumni Punjabi people Pakistani journalists Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Pakistani diplomats University of the Punjab faculty Pakistani political journalists Pakistani democracy activists Pakistani prisoners and detainees English-language writers from Pakistan Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians 20th-century Pakistani historians Communications Ministers of Pakistan Information Ministers of Pakistan Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Pakistan Pakistani dissidents Candidates for President of Pakistan Pakistani senators (14th Parliament) Defence and security analysts in Pakistan Sinologists Historians of China Living people