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M.Ziauddin and 55 years of journalism

 

The byline M.Ziauddin is synonymous to journalistic integrity.

“If you don’t have skeletons in your closet, nobody will find them,” Ziauddin often says. Fifty-five years into his profession, there are no skeletons and, of course, nobody has found them.

In a rich career that involves brushes of power with military dictators, presidents and prime ministers, and life as a foreign correspondent in London, he is a man unnerved by people in power. His work, his ‘story’ has been more powerful, which makes him among the most credible names in Pakistan’s journalism history.

Four years ago, the international body Reporters Without Borders also gave him the title of one of the world’s ‘Information Heros’, but he will never mention that himself. He is a rather quiet, humble hero, sharing little, if ever, of his own work.

It will take years of knowing him, hours of talking to him and countless questions about his work and career that you will know that he broke the story on the National Reconciliation Ordinance signed between General Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. It was also Ziauddin who first reported on the nature of the relationship between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prior to this, the relationship between Pakistan and the IMF was considered a state secret.

In a career that spans over 55 years, Ziauddin, now a freelance journalist, has worked for the (now defunct) Morning Post, the Daily Sun, the News and the Pakistan Press International (PPI), where he started his career. Most of his work, for nearly 25 years, was with Dawn for which he worked in the capacity of a resident editor, reporter, as well as a foreign correspondent in the UK. He has also served as the president of the South Asia Free Media Association and is the former Executive Editor of The Express Tribune.

Advent into journalism
His coming into journalism was a response to the political climate of the time. Between 1964-65, Ziauddin, then a student at the University of Karachi, was influenced by the student movement which had a deep imprint of socialism. The Vietnam War had started, the country was young and its young held a high regard for democracy. General Ayub Khan’s military regime was in place and student leaders Fatehyab Ali Khan and Jauhar Hussain, known for their left-leaning politics, were inspiring their younger peers to take up the cause of a fairer, more just Pakistan.

It was Jauhar Hussain, a mentor and senior at university, who introduced Ziauddin to the field of journalism. Ziauddin was a student of Pharmacy at the university and had started working as a medical representative at a salary of around Rs500 when Hussain, who was working at PPI then, encouraged him to take up a job as a reporter – for a meagre Rs75. Money came later and passion first, and so he took up that job.
There has been no turning back since.

Over 55 years later, M.Ziauddin shares his motivations behind coming into journalism, the trials and tribulations of a journalist under the Pakistan Press Ordinance and decades of censorship, and the financial struggles that came with the profession.

Watch this VCast Online interview of M.Ziauddin, a witness to both the history of media and Pakistan, and learn what it takes to remain a credible name for five decades in your career.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more interviews of Pakistan’s most distinguished personalities.

 

 

What do Karachi’s Urdu Bazaar and the iconic Ram Leela have in common?

 

Karachi’s Urdu bazaar is special not only because it’s among the largest book markets in the region, but also because of its historically rich past. The area where Urdu bazaar now stands was known as Rambagh quarters before the Partition of India.

Located on M.A Jinnah Road, the architecture of the bazaar still tells the story of its diverse past, when its residents were predominantly Hindus and Sikhs. On the delicately crafted grilles of the pre-Partition buildings, there are places where you can still see carvings of Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, it is also sacred for some as according to one tradition, Ram Leela passed by this area on their way to Hinglaj in Balochistan, a site of pilgrimage for Hindus.

There are varying accounts of when Urdu bazaar was first established. While some accounts suggest it was made in the 1950s, others say that it was made right after the Partition and was established along the same lines as the Urdu Bazaar in Delhi.

Since decades now, the Urdu bazaar remains the most popular go-to-market for books, especially for school textbooks and classics translated from foreign languages to Urdu. VCast Online launched

Watch our video on one of Pakistan’s most famous bazaars and discover its rich historical past. Subscribe to our Youtube page for stories on Pakistan’s business and economy.

 

 

Leading a philanthropic organisation whose sole purpose is to serve the poor

According to a March 2018 paper in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Pakistan contributes more than one percent of its GDP to charity, putting it right next to the UK and Canada.

Without the philanthropic contributions of our people in the space of health and education, Pakistan would be an “unstable place”, says Saquib Hameed, Chairman of LRBT.  The organisation provides free eye-care to 3 million people each year through 19 hospitals located all over Pakistan.

For a country that ranks third in the world for the highest number of visually impaired and blind people, LRBT provides a crucial service in the absence of adequate public healthcare, attracting about 9000 patients a day.

Hameed joined LRBT after retiring from a successful career with a leading global multinational company in the UAE.  He moved back to his hometown of Karachi, where he wanted to dedicate his time to giving back to the country that brought him success. 

Under his leadership, the organisation has grown from 9  to 19 hospitals. The entire operation of LRBT is run on donations. Even though there is no profit motive, Hameed says they still have to deliver a competent service as cost-effectively as possible.

Watch this video to learn about the impressive reach of LRBT. If you want to hear more stories of generosity and good citizenship, subscribe to our Youtube channel.

 

An expat’s view on heading communications at Pakistan’s leading private hospital

British national Shamsah Virani is the director for communications and marketing at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. She was born and raised in the UK and had spent her career working in pharmaceuticals and health services in London, Toronto, San Francisco and New York before moving to Karachi three years ago – a city far from her comfort zone.  

Shamsah’s family had moved to the UK from India in the 1960s and she had only visited Pakistan to see an aunt who had moved here when she was younger.

In her first year, Shamsah faced some expected obstacles in terms of adapting to the culture and norms of Pakistan, but overall it’s been rewarding, she says.

Typically, Pakistan is looked upon with skepticism and fear from the eyes of foreigners, who buy into the narrative portrayed by the international media. Often times, it’s Pakistan’s own mainstream media that fails to give a balanced view of the country.

Watch Shamsah’s interview and hear her account of heading the marketing division of a leading health provider in Pakistan.

VCast Online believes that expats have a unique perspective in their respective fields. You can find this video and listen to other leading voices from Pakistan’s professional community on our Youtube channel.

 

 

Meet the man behind Facebook group Halaat Updates

“Halaat kharab hain” is a phrase people in Pakistan are all too used to hearing. This is what Pooya Dubash would often hear from his sales team at his factory in Karachi. After having heard it enough times, he asked them to come to work with photographic evidence of what was happening in their neighbourhoods everytime they couldn’t reach a place because “halaat kharab hain.”

His team did come up with news from the city, which Dubash started putting up on a Facebook group he called ‘Halaat Updates’.

The group was made at a time when Karachi was particularly volatile and every other day there was news of a strike or violence in some part of the city. Dubash himself didn’t realize the need for such a group and the impact it may have on people. But given the times Karachiites were living in, soon enough the group grew much greater than what it was initially meant for – his own team – and it became the go-to place to get “halaat” updates from not only Karachi but around Pakistan.

Created in September 2012, the page now has over 250,000 followers. Taking a life of its own, the group became a place that demanded accountability from public service providers. There have been instances of people reporting incidents of mobile or car snatching and have had the police take notice and recover their belongings.

VCast Online met Pooya Dubash to listen to the story of Halaat Updates and when he realised its true impact.

Watch our video and subscribe to our YouTube channel to listen to more stories of contributing citizens. Be inspired.

 

 

This Pakistani scientist continues to have global impact today

 

Pakistan has many heroes we don’t talk enough about. Here is one person we think you must know: Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui. A scientist, a poet and an artist, his work continues to have impact today.

Born in 1897, Dr Siddiqui studied at the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (later renamed to Aligarh Muslim University). His early university education was in Philosophy and Persian after which he went to University College London to study medicine, and later pursued a doctorate degree in Frankfurt.  

After completing his PhD and returning to India, Dr Siddiqui set up the Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbi Research Institute at Tibbia College in Delhi under the guidance of Hakeem Ajmal Khan. In 1940, he joined the Indian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

It was in 1951 that Liaquat Ali Khan invited him to Pakistan, where he played a founding role in setting up the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui alone has 400 research papers and 40 patents to his name.

He was also an artist and a poet and translated the work of German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. It was under the tutelage of poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore at the Calcutta School of Arts that Dr Siddiqui learnt painting and drawing. His first exhibition was in 1924, where his drawings were displayed at the Galerie Schames in Frankfurt.

This is why we think you must know him: Dr Siddiqui was a man of multiple talents – a poet, an artist and an exceptional scientist whose work continues to have impact today.

Watch this video and know a little something about one of South Asia’s greatest minds.

To learn more about distinguished Pakistanis, subscribe to our Youtube channel.

 

 

Five easy steps to follow to manage your anxiety at work

 

You are at your job for at least a third of the day and for many, this may be the most stressful part of their 24-hour clock. Here are some simple steps we can take to reduce our anxiety at work; whether it’s stretching or taking out a few minutes in the day for meditation.

Watch this VCast Online video and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more on healthy living and productivity.

 

 

This company broke even in three months and has now gone global

 

“We broke even in the first three months after launching,” says Myra Qureshi Jahangir, CEO of  Conatural, a manufacturer of natural and organic personal care products.  Although Conatural is no longer considered a startup, its success during the first couple of years is remarkable. 

VCast Online sat down with the 35-year-old entrepreneur to hear her story, from working in London as a management consultant for Deloitte to launching the personal care brand in her native city of Lahore.

In the video above she talks about the market for organic products in Pakistan and the journey of Conatural. 

Inspired by her own struggle with sensitive skin, as organic products were hard to find when she moved back to Pakistan in 2013, and overall concern over the harmful chemicals found in popular self-care products, Myra and her sister Rema launched Conatural’s online platform in 2014.

With only 7 products at its onset, the company is now producing 57 natural and organic items from hair oils and anti-aging creams to hair extensions and eyelashes. 

After successfully launching Conatural in the UAE , Myra recently took Conatural to the UK market.

Apart from craft-scale producers operating out of kitchens on a smaller scale, Myra says Conatural is the only Pakistani manufacturer of natural personal care products she knows that is ISO – certified, which means that Conatural follows international standards for good manufacturing processes. Conatural also use certified organic ingredients in the products they claim are “organic”. These ingredients have been certified by multiple global organisations such as USNOP, COSMOS and ECOCERT.

You can find this video and other stories of Pakistani startups that began as a solution to a problem on our Youtube channel. Subscribe to stay plugged into the country’s startup ecosystem.

 

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Pakistan and its never-ending ‘Energy Crisis’

It’s 2018, but Pakistanis are still facing hours of power cuts. Watch our video to see where we really lose in the struggle to make load-shedding history.

You can find this video and other stories about important issues in  on our Youtube channel

 

 

 

Meet the young startup founders at Lahore’s National Incubation Centre

 

Ahmed Pervaiz started working at age 13. School wasn’t his favourite place and his mind was always busy with entrepreneurial ideas. His interest in information technology led him to start developing websites as a teenager and he soon realized that if he makes websites for other individuals and organisations he can also earn money doing it. And so, starting with this, he has been involved in several businesses one after the other.

His creative brains have now brought him to the National Incubation Centre located at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), where he is now launching an app to connect home-based cake bakers to buyers.

National Incubation Centers have been set up across Pakistan with institutes in Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad and a centre soon to be established in Quetta. These centres, launched in collaboration between private enterprises and the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom, serve as a hub for young individuals looking to find guidance and support for their entrepreneurship journey.

Listen to Ahmed’s story and other inspiring individuals who are working on creative ideas from bringing dermatologists within reach for people in rural Pakistan to finding ways to purify contaminated water. As you watch this video, learn what it takes to have your startup idea funded at your local NIC.

You can find this video and other interviews with entrepreneurs and startup founders on VCast Online’s YouTube channel. Subscribe to learn more about Pakistan’s emerging startup scene.