AG launched its first media enterprise, Newsweek Pakistan, in August 2010.
The country’s No. 1 weekly newsmagazine is produced by AG Publications under license from The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company, LLC, and is edited by Fasih Ahmed, who has written for The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek International, and who was the inaugural Daniel Pearl fellow. The debut issue featured Ahmed’s cover essay, “The World’s Bravest Nation,” which was also published online by Newsweek.
“Pakistan can only profit from a deeper understanding of its endearingly complicated self‚ from fresh‚ clear voices that cut through the din with patient competence,” Ahmed wrote in his first editor’s note. “Newsweek Pakistan will present the facts‚ and its arguments‚ vociferously‚ without caring for or pandering to the heedless herd. When we fail or falter‚ and we will‚ we shall be the first to set right our course.”
Some of the most important voices in Pakistan, and abroad, have written for Newsweek Pakistan. Among them: former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, highly-regarded judicial activist and author Aitzaz Ahsan, ambassadors Sherry Rehman and Husain Haqqani, nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan, and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark.
Newsweek Pakistan has been widely praised for its editorial excellence:
Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan: Newsweek Pakistan has demonstrated a commitment to establishing itself as a credible and authoritative source of news and views. I am confident that it will continue to make strides in quest of excellence and leave its mark in the competitive world of print media. The media profession demands from its practitioners constant vigilance and introspection and a conscious effort to meet the requirements of fairness, objectivity, and balance. Newsweek Pakistan has demonstrated a remarkable keenness to uphold high ethical standards of journalism. I wish it greater glory.
Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister of Pakistan: Newsweek Pakistan completing one year of publication in Pakistan is a heartening and unique milestone. The launching of an international news journal from Pakistan is a welcome step and will help local media learn from it. It also shows that Pakistani journalists enjoy the trust of their global colleagues. After 9/11, Pakistan has gained added importance. In this context, there is a need to sensitize the world about the intricate realities of a country worst hit by the war on terror. I hope Newsweek Pakistan continues with its objective, compelling, and incisive coverage.
Pervez Musharraf, former president of Pakistan: I have always had a firm belief in a vigorous, free media for Pakistan. Congratulations, therefore, to Newsweek Pakistan for completing one year of very successful news coverage. The magazine has served the cause of Pakistan very well through its fair, apolitical and unbiased projection of views. The tumultuous period that Pakistan is going through demands bold articulation of critical issues, and the exposing especially of terrorism and religious extremism in our society. I believe Newsweek Pakistan is bound to do well because there is never a boring or dull moment in our region. I wish it all success.
Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman: My best wishes to Newsweek Pakistan’s team on the magazine’s first anniversary. They have created a niche for themselves in the country in a short span of time, and have done a good job in putting across the Pakistani perspective along with the international one. This is a positive step toward building a better understanding of Pakistan and promoting peace, human rights, and equitable international relations. I wish Newsweek Pakistan further success and am confident they will continue being objective and honest in their reporting.
Fareed Zakaria, former editor, Newsweek International: I’m delighted that one of the major projects that I was able to launch at Newsweek was the collaboration with AG Publications, Newsweek Pakistan. Its editor is an extraordinary person, full of intelligence and energy, and will play a very important role in Pakistan for decades. I’m glad I was able to be of some help in that career path.
Al Gore, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former U.S. vice president: Over the past year, the need for a new, reliable, authoritative news and information magazine like Newsweek Pakistan could not have become more clear. Covering a series of extraordinary events, from the historic floods and the discovery of Osama bin Laden to the debt crisis and war in Afghanistan, Newsweek Pakistan has grown to become the largest circulation newsmagazine in the country. It’s difficult to imagine what the next year will bring, but I’m confident that Newsweek Pakistan will be there.
The newsmagazine’s advisory board comprises Qazi Shaukat Fareed, who has worked with the U.N. for over 20 years; Dr. Parvez Hassan, lawyer and environmentalist; Dr. Ayesha Jalal, professor of history at Tufts University; David Walters, former governor of Oklahoma; and Hameed Haroon, publisher of Dawn newspaper.
For additional information on Newsweek Pakistan, please contact desk@newsweek.pk. Subscription inquiries may be routed to subscribe@newsweek.pk