Jugnu Mohsin
Encyclopedia
Jugnu Mohsin is a Pakistan
i publisher and editor
of the Lahore
-based The Friday Times, Pakistan's first English-language independent newsweekly.
, now Pakistan's most prestigious management sciences university, and is a first cousin of Syeda Abida Hussain
and Syed Fakhar Imam – Jugnu Mohsin was inspired by husband Najam Sethi
to combine her money and cutting wit for civic purposes. She regards herself as holding "the Establishment" accountable. In 1984 Najam had been arrested under martial law for releasing books with his book publishing firm Vanguard Books. http://www.vanguardbooks.com/cgi-local/vbl/vblmain.pl The press hardly took notice and the couple were determined to set up their own paper.
Jugnu Mohsin received her LLB degree from Cambridge University. Before partnering her husband professionally, Jugnu was a practicing lawyer and member of the Women's Action Forum
.
In May 1989 the Lahore-based couple did just that, thus establishing Pakistan’s first independent English newsweekly http://www.thefridaytimes.com The Friday Times which has since been criticising successive governments with its outspoken equal opportunity
criticism. The Friday Times was first published on 25 May 1989.
This, allies would maintain, is what lead to one eventful May 1999 when Sethi was dragged from his bedroom in the middle of the night and imprisoned in jail, where he was held for 25 days. Sethi’s piercing criticism of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
, it is alleged, what the root cause – making the matter a freedom of press issue.http://www.media-watch.org/articles/0799/225.html
Jugnu Mohsin rallied up support from Western allies - Amnesty International
, the Committee to Protect Journalists
, World Bank
President James Wolfensohn
, and US State Department spokesman, James Rubin
– to exert pressure on Sharif’s regime for the immediate release of her husband. The sedition
charges were finally dropped on June 2, but not without further government harassment, including calls for Sethi to be stripped of his status as a Muslim and have his name taken off voter lists.
In 1999 the couple were recognised for their bold contributions to journalism and both were recipients of the Committee to Protect Journalist’s International Press Freedom award. http://www.cpj.org/awards99/Awards.html
In addition to being the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Friday Times, Jugnu Mohsin launched GoodTimes http://www.goodtimes.com.pk as its Publisher and Editor in January 2005.
Jugnu’s witty satirical pieces at the back page of The Friday Times in the form of spoofs of incumbent administration and opposition. Her current spoof columns "Ittefaq Nama" and "Howzzat" poke fun at ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former cricketer turned politician Imran Khan
.
Jugnu will be soon publishing a collection of the profiles of Pakistani luminaries that she wrote for The Friday Times’ features section in a book. Ever tireless, the husband-wife duo are also set to launch a television network broadcasted from Dubai
to the Subcontinent
.
Jugnu Mohsin is a trustee of the Mohsin Trust which runs 26 schools for girls and boys in Punjab's district Okara
, teaching 3,500 children. The Trust also runs a teacher training centre, preparing local graduates to join the profession and man the Trust's schools. It also runs a dispensary in the town of Shergarh, district Okara where up to 100 patients are cared for daily. The Mohsin Trust is preparing to adopt and rebuild a hospital for the population of 30,000 people in Shergarh, that does not currently have a functional hospital.
Jugnu Mohsin is interested in the history and culture of her ancestral village Shergarh, a pre-Mughal qasba 115 kilometres south west of Lahore. She has restored the family's 18th century haveli with the help of local craftsmen and artisans, using traditional building materials.
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 publisher and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the 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 The Friday Times, Pakistan's first English-language independent newsweekly.
Background
Born of a wealthy family with shrewd business acumen – her brother and father run a family owned leading food company http://www.mitchells.com.pk/farm/profile.htm; her highly successful maternal uncle was a businessman who helped start up LUMSLUMS
LUMS or lums may refer to:*London Universities Mooting Shield*Lancaster University Management School*Lahore University of Management Sciences*Lum's - A defunct U.S. family restaurant chain*Plural of lum...
, now Pakistan's most prestigious management sciences university, and is a first cousin of Syeda Abida Hussain
Syeda Abida Hussain
Syeda Abida Hussain is a Pakistani politician. She is a former National Assembly member from Jhang, Punjab.Hussain is married to Syed Fakhar Imam also prominent Pakistani politician, who was the Speaker of the National Assembly in 1985-86...
and Syed Fakhar Imam – Jugnu Mohsin was inspired by husband Najam Sethi
Najam Sethi
Najam Sethi is an award-winning Pakistani 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...
to combine her money and cutting wit for civic purposes. She regards herself as holding "the Establishment" accountable. In 1984 Najam had been arrested under martial law for releasing books with his book publishing firm Vanguard Books. http://www.vanguardbooks.com/cgi-local/vbl/vblmain.pl The press hardly took notice and the couple were determined to set up their own paper.
Jugnu Mohsin received her LLB degree from Cambridge University. Before partnering her husband professionally, Jugnu was a practicing lawyer and member of the Women's Action Forum
Women's Action Forum
Women's Action Forum is a women's rights organization and has a presence in several cities in Pakistan. It is a non-partisan, non-hierarchical and non-funded organization. It is supportive of all aspects of women's rights and related issues, irrespective of political affiliations, belief system,...
.
In May 1989 the Lahore-based couple did just that, thus establishing Pakistan’s first independent English newsweekly http://www.thefridaytimes.com The Friday Times which has since been criticising successive governments with its outspoken equal opportunity
Equal opportunity
Equal opportunity, or equality of opportunity, is a controversial political concept; and an important informal decision-making standard without a precise definition involving fair choices within the public sphere...
criticism. The Friday Times was first published on 25 May 1989.
This, allies would maintain, is what lead to one eventful May 1999 when Sethi was dragged from his bedroom in the middle of the night and imprisoned in jail, where he was held for 25 days. Sethi’s piercing criticism 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...
, it is alleged, what the root cause – making the matter a freedom of press issue.http://www.media-watch.org/articles/0799/225.html
Jugnu Mohsin rallied up support from Western allies - Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, the Committee to Protect Journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...
, World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
President James Wolfensohn
James Wolfensohn
Sir James David Wolfensohn AO KBE FKC was the ninth president of the World Bank Group.-Early life:James Wolfensohn was born in Sydney, Australia, on 1 December 1933...
, and US State Department spokesman, James Rubin
James Rubin
James Philip "Jamie" Rubin is a former diplomat and journalist. He is currently an executive editor at Bloomberg News. Having served in the State Department during the administration of President Bill Clinton, he became a Sky News television news journalist and commentator...
– to exert pressure on Sharif’s regime for the immediate release of her husband. The sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
charges were finally dropped on June 2, but not without further government harassment, including calls for Sethi to be stripped of his status as a Muslim and have his name taken off voter lists.
In 1999 the couple were recognised for their bold contributions to journalism and both were recipients of the Committee to Protect Journalist’s International Press Freedom award. http://www.cpj.org/awards99/Awards.html
In addition to being the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Friday Times, Jugnu Mohsin launched GoodTimes http://www.goodtimes.com.pk as its Publisher and Editor in January 2005.
Jugnu’s witty satirical pieces at the back page of The Friday Times in the form of spoofs of incumbent administration and opposition. Her current spoof columns "Ittefaq Nama" and "Howzzat" poke fun at ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former cricketer turned politician Imran Khan
Imran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
.
Jugnu will be soon publishing a collection of the profiles of Pakistani luminaries that she wrote for The Friday Times’ features section in a book. Ever tireless, the husband-wife duo are also set to launch a television network broadcasted from Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
to the Subcontinent
Subcontinent
A subcontinent is a large, relatively self-contained landmass forming a subdivision of a continent. By dictionary entries, the term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent, or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision...
.
Jugnu Mohsin is a trustee of the Mohsin Trust which runs 26 schools for girls and boys in Punjab's district Okara
Okara
Okara can have several meanings:* Okara * Okara, Pakistan*Okara Tehsil* Okara District, Pakistan* Gabriel Okara, a Nigerian writer....
, teaching 3,500 children. The Trust also runs a teacher training centre, preparing local graduates to join the profession and man the Trust's schools. It also runs a dispensary in the town of Shergarh, district Okara where up to 100 patients are cared for daily. The Mohsin Trust is preparing to adopt and rebuild a hospital for the population of 30,000 people in Shergarh, that does not currently have a functional hospital.
Jugnu Mohsin is interested in the history and culture of her ancestral village Shergarh, a pre-Mughal qasba 115 kilometres south west of Lahore. She has restored the family's 18th century haveli with the help of local craftsmen and artisans, using traditional building materials.