Najam Aziz Sethi (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Pakistani

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

businessman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

and cricket administrator, currently serving as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He also is the founder of ''

The Friday Times ''The Friday Times'' (TFT) is a Pakistani English-language independent newsweekly, based in Lahore, Pakistan. History and profile ''The Friday Times'' was first published in May 1989. TFT's founder-editor Najam Sethi and publisher Jugnu Mohsin, ...

'' and ''Vanguard Books''. He has served as a caretaker Federal Minister of Pakistan and Chief Minister of Punjab. As a journalist, he is a

left-leaning Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political commentator who serves as the editor-in-chief of ''

'' and serves as Chairman of

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the P ...

. He has also served as the

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

chief minister of Punjab during the 2013 election. He formerly used to host primetime current affairs show ''

Aapas ki Baat ''Aapas Ki Baat'' is a 1981 Bollywood action romance film directed by Harmesh Malhotra. The movie starred Raj Babbar, Poonam Dhillon, Shakti Kapoor in lead roles. Plot This is the love story of Kajal and Anand. Kajal's mother and brother Vinod ...

'' on

Geo News Geo News is a Rank Number 1 Pakistani news channel owned by the Jang Media Group. History The Geo Television Network started out with the launch of its flagship channel Geo TV in October 2002 but has since launched several other channels whic ...

. He is currently the President of AAP Media Media Network /

Indus News Indus News was an English language Pakistani international news channel launched in November 2018. It was part of Aap Media Network and was broadcast on Paksat. The channel was based in Islamabad. History The channel was owned by Pakistani bu ...

. Najam Sethi began his sociopolitical endeavours with the

socialist movement The history of socialism has its origins in the 1789 French Revolution and the changes which it brought, although it has precedents in earlier movements and ideas. ''The Communist Manifesto'' was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1847-4 ...

working for the rights of

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, leading to his arrest in 1975 before being discharged in 1978. He consequently left politics and established ''Vanguard Books'', a progressive book publishing company. In 1989, Sethi along with his wife

Jugnu Mohsin Syeda Maimanat Mohsin (born 1959), commonly known as Jugnu Mohsin, is a Pakistani politician and journalist. She was an independent member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab until 31 March 2022 and then joined PML(N) on 1 April 2022. Previo ...

launched an independent English weekly, ''

''. He was arrested by the second

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, 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 minister of Pak ...

government in 1999 on trumped-up charges of treason before being released by the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

. In 2002, he founded the ''

Daily Times of Pakistan The ''Daily Times'' (''DT'') is an English-language Pakistani newspaper. Launched on April 9, 2002, ''Daily Times'', is simultaneously published from Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. The newspaper was owned by Governor of Punjab and Pakistan Peop ...

'' and became its editor until leaving in October 2009. He also served as the Pakistan correspondent of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' from 1990 to 2008. Sethi won the 1999 International Press Freedom Award of the US-based

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of jou ...

and the 2009

World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award The Golden Pen of Freedom Award is an annual international journalism award established in 1961, given by the World Association of Newspapers to individuals or organisations. The stated purpose of the award is "to recognise the outstanding action, i ...

. On 26 March 2013, his name was approved for the interim position of the chief minister of

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

as a result of consensus between members of the selection committee comprising individuals from both the governing and the opposing political parties. He took the oath on 27 March 2013, and left the office after the May 2013 elections on 6 June 2013.

Career

According to Sethi, he first conceived of the idea for an independent Pakistani newspaper out of frustration: while briefly imprisoned in 1984 on trumped-up copyright charges, no newspapers had protested his arrest. The following year, he and

Mohsin Muhsin (also spelled Mohsen, Mohsin, Mehsin, or Muhsen, ar, محسن) is a masculine Arabic given name. The first person known to have the name "Muhsin" was Muhsin bin Ali, the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah bint Muhammad. Islamic term ...

applied for a publishing licence under Mohsin's name, since Sethi was "too notorious an offender" to be use the application, Mohsin told him that she intended to publish "a social chit chat thing, you know, with lots of pictures of parties and weddings". It was finally approved in 1987, but Mohsin requested a one-year delay to avoid the first issue coming out during the dictatorship of

General Zia ul Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

. The paper's first issue appeared in May 1989.

1999 arrest

In early 1999, Sethi gave an interview to a team for the BBC television show ''Correspondent'', which was planning to report on corruption in the Nawaz Sharif government. At the beginning of May, he was warned by contacts that his co-operation with the team was being interpreted by the Nawaz Sharif government as an attempt to destabilize it and that officials were planning Sethi's arrest. On 8 May, he was taken from his home by personnel of Punjab Police. According to Sethi's wife Mohsin, at least eight armed officers broke into the house, assaulting the family's security guards; when asked to produce a warrant, one of them threatened simply to shoot Sethi on the spot. Mohsin was tied up and left locked in another room. Sethi was then held for almost a month without charge. He was kept incommunicado at a detention center in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

stated its belief that his arrest was connected with his investigations into

government corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, inf ...

, and designated him a prisoner of conscience. The US-based

also sent a protest letter to Prime Minister

, noting the organisation's dismay "that the state continues its persecution of independent journalists", and

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

president

James Wolfensohn Sir James David Wolfensohn (1 December 193325 November 2020) was an Australian-American lawyer, investment banker, and economist who served as the ninth president of the World Bank Group (1995–2005). During his tenure at the World Bank, he is ...

called Sharif to urge Sethi's release. On 1 June, authorities charged Sethi with "Condemnation of the Creation of the State and Advocacy of Abolition of its Sovereignty" and "Promoting Enmity Between Different Groups" and transferred him to police custody. However, the following day, the

ruled that the government had provided insufficient evidence to justify Sethi's detention. He was released, and the charges against him were dropped.

''My Feudal Lord''

In June 1991, Mohsin and Sethi's publishing company,

Vanguard Books Najam Aziz Sethi (Urdu, pa, ; born 20 May 1948) is a Pakistani journalist, businessman and cricket administrator, currently serving as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He also is the founder of ''The Friday Times'' and ''Vanguar ...

, released

Tehmina Durrani Tehmina Durrani ( ur, ; born 18 February 1953) is a Pakistani author, artist, activist on women's and children's rights, and the current First Lady of Pakistan being married to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Her first book, "My Feudal Lord" ...

's ''My Feudal Lord'', a "politically explosive" book about her marriage with leading politician Mustafa Khar. In the book, Durrani alleges that Khar mistreated and abused her. It was an "instant sensation" and later became the "hottest book in Pakistan's history". Durrani signed a contract vesting foreign rights with Mohsin and giving her 50% of foreign royalties. On 19 May 1999, however—during Sethi's one-month incommunicado detention—Durrani called a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

to denounce him as having stolen all of her earnings from the book, stating that his actions were "an even bigger case of hypocrisy than my experience with the feudal system". Durrani sued Sethi for mental torture, and he countersued for defamation. An earlier dispute over the foreign rights had been settled out of court in 1992. A review of the contracts by the UK newspaper ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' described Sethi as acting in good faith and described him and Mohsin as "the injured party". In 2008, when Sethi's newspapers ran a series of editorials opposing

religious fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...

, the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

threatened him with death, causing him to live under constant guard. Sethi also received death threats in July 2008 for publishing an editorial cartoon showing Umme Hassaan, principal of a girls' school, encouraging young women in

burqa A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...

s to "kidnap Chinese masseuses". The joke referred to

Lal Masjid Lal Masjid or Red Mosque may refer to: *Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, Pettah, Sri Lanka *Lal Masjid, Islamabad, Pakistan **Siege of Lal Masjid, 2007 ** 2008 Lal Masjid bombing * Lal Masjid, Delhi, India *Red Mosque, Berat The Red Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Ku ...

, the fundamentalist Masjid at which her husband Abdul Aziz Ghazi was a cleric; the mosque had kidnapped six Chinese women that it accused of being prostitutes, leading to Ghazi's arrest.

Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab

Najam Sethi was appointed as the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab on 26 March 2013, for the 2012 general elections, which were scheduled to be held on 11 May 2013. His name was presented by the opposition, PPP, and the governing party, PML(N) agreed on it. He was then chosen to be the caretaker Chief Minister. On 6 June 2013, he stepped down in favour of the newly elected leader

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president of ...

. PTI, the party that lost the 2013 elections, had accused Najam Sethi of fixing the elections in 35 constituencies and famously called them the 35 punctures.

Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pak ...

appointed him as the acting chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board after the

Islamabad High Court The Islamabad High Court is the senior court of the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, with appellate jurisdiction over the following district courts: * Islamabad District Court (East) * Islamabad District Court (West) Justice Aamer Far ...

ordered the appointment of an interim chairman until a pending case on the serving chairman, Zaka Ashraf, was decided. Later, a two-member bench of Islamabad high court cleared Zaka Ashraf and ordered his restoration as chairman PCB. Sethi then relinquished chairmanship. After the collapse of Imran Khan's government in April 2022, Sethi was later appointed in December 2022, as chairman along with 13 board members again by PM Shehbaz Sharif.

PTI's Government and resignation from PCB

After

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confiden ...

was elected as the

in 2018 Pakistan General Election, Najam Sethi duly resigned from the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board. Shortly after his resignation,

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 ...

announced his successor, former ICC President

Ehsan Mani Ehsan Mani ( Urdu: ; born 23 March 1945) is a Pakistani chartered accountant who is the former president of International Cricket Council (ICC) and former Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Early life Mani was born in Rawalpindi Pakist ...

by a tweet.

Personal life

Sethi is married to fellow journalist

, the publisher of ''

''. The couple have two children: author and singer

Ali Sethi Ali Aziz Sethi (Urdu/; ; born July 2, 1984) is a Pakistani singer, songwriter, composer, and author. Sethi rose to prominence with his debut novel, '' The Wish Maker'' (2009). In 2012, Sethi began focusing on his musical career and made his film ...

and journalist and actress

Mira Sethi Mira Sethi (born January 12, 1987) is a Pakistani actress and writer. The daughter of journalists Najam Sethi and Jugnu Mohsin, she attended Lahore Grammar School and Cheltenham Ladies' College then graduated from Wellesley College in 2010; she ...

Awards and recognition

In 1999, Sethi and Mohsin were both given the International Press Freedom Award of the US-based

, which recognises journalists who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. Ten years later, he was awarded the 2009

Golden Pen of Freedom The Golden Pen of Freedom Award is an annual international journalism award established in 1961, given by the World Association of Newspapers to individuals or organisations. The stated purpose of the award is "to recognise the outstanding action, i ...

, the annual press freedom prize of the

World Association of Newspapers The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization made up of 76 national newspaper associations, 12 news agencies, 10 regional press organisations, and many individual newspaper ...

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the ...

Award in 2011 by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Najam Sethi's Hilal-i-Imtiaz Award info listed on Dawn (newspaper)
Published 23 March 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2020

References

External links

*
Vanguard Books
Chief Minister of Punjab {{DEFAULTSORT:Sethi, Najam 1948 births Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Acting Chief Ministers of Punjab, Pakistan Living people Pakistani political journalists Pakistani columnists Pakistani newspaper founders Government College University, Lahore alumni Journalists from Lahore Pakistan Cricket Board Presidents and Chairmen Geo News newsreaders and journalists Pakistan Super League Najam English-language writers from Pakistan Pakistani newspaper publishers (people) St. Anthony's High School, Lahore alumni Imprisoned journalists Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Pakistan Pakistani opinion journalists Pakistani prisoners and detainees Pakistani YouTubers Federal ministers of Pakistan Pakistani Marxists People of the insurgency in Balochistan Pakistani activists Punjabi people