Zamir Niazi

Career

Zamir Niazi began as a journalist in 1954 by joining Dawn newspaper where he also worked as a sub-editor for eight years. He then joined another Pakistani newspaper, Daily News as its chief sub-editor and lead writer in 1962. In 1965, he started working for a major business newspaper of Pakistan, the Business Recorder where he worked for 25 years in different capacities. He was its news editor, when he retired from the Business Recorder in 1990.

''The Press in Chains''

He is best known for the book The Press in Chains that was published in 1986. The book investigates press censorship in Pakistan. It documents instances of press censorship during the British colonial rule in India and during the first three decades of Pakistan's independence especially under authoritarian military governments in Pakistan. This book was critically acclaimed and its several editions were published. This book was originally in English and was also translated into Urdu language.

Bibliography

• Zameen Ka Noha (Earth's Cry Of Pain) - on the subject of nuclear technology and its bad effects

Awards and recognition

• Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1994

Death and legacy

Zamir Niazi died on 11 June 2004 at age 72 at Karachi, after being unwell for some time. He was admitted to a hospital for treatment just three days before his death. Among his survivors were his widow and two sons, Haris Zamir and Junaid Zamir.

After writing three above books on press freedom in Pakistan, he was widely considered in Pakistan to be an authority on the issue of press freedom.

On 29 June 2004, an event was arranged at the Pakistan Academy of Letters, Islamabad to pay tributes to the journalist Zamir Niazi by noted scholars and intellectuals of Pakistan including Iftikhar Arif and Tariq Rahman. It was mentioned by speakers at this event that Zamir Niazi was often called as 'Zameer' (the conscience) of Pakistani Press.

References

References

1. (2010-07-08). "The Press in Chains". OUP Pakistan.
2. (12 June 2004). "Zamir Niazi passes away". Dawn newspaper.
3. [https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=isbn:0195477243 The Press in Chains, Zamir Niazi's book on GoogleBooks website] Published on GoogleBooks on 8 July 2010, Retrieved 6 August 2019
4. (30 June 2004). "Zamir Niazi's services for freedom of expression eulogized". Dawn newspaper.
5. Ihsan Aslam. (16 June 2004). "Zamir Niazi's torch". Daily Times newspaper.