Majid Nizami (born 3 April 1928) is a senior journalist, the Editor-in-Chief and publisher of Nawa-i-Waqt Group of Publications in Pakistan and Chairman of Nazria-i-Pakistan Trust.
Early life & education
Mr. Majid Nizami was born on April 3, 1928 into a modest home in Sangla Hill, Sheikhupura. His elementary education was carried out at the Sangla Hill Government High School. A little before the inception of Pakistan, he moved to Lahore where he took his Matriculation examination and passed his F.A. from the Islamia College, Railway Road. Upon graduation from the Government College Lahore in 1952, he enrolled at University of the Punjab where he read for an M.A. degree in Political Science. During his stint as a student at the Islamia College, Majid Nizami took an active part in the Pakistan Movement from the platform of the Muslim Students Federation. In recognition of these services, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan awarded him the honour of Mujahid-e-Tehrik-e-Pakistan along with a sword as a symbolic gesture.
Nawa-i-waqt as a national newspaper
In the last 45 years, Majid Nizami has acquainted his institution with new heights of honour and dignity and made Nawa-i-Waqt a force to be reckoned with. On the intellectual front, the basic ideology by, and for which, Pakistan was formed has been relentlessly promoted and defended; while on the political front Majid Nizami has made Nawa-i-Waqt a mighty political weapon. Under his leadership, it has become the most widely respected and influential paper of the country, which, in the words of Asfandyar Wali, holds vision and commitment to truth as its policy.
Awards & Honours
Majid Nizami's services to the country have been continually lauded and appreciated through the years. The Pakistan Human Rights Society awarded Mr Majid Nizami the Human Rights Awards with great pride. On January 9, 2005, in a gathering of eminent personalities, Mr Majid Nizami collected the award in person. In light of his dedication to the protection of human rights in Kashmir and his search for a democratic solution to the Kashmir issue, Majid Nizami has very rightly been named a Mujahid-i-Kashmir. He has numerous times been elected the president of the APNS and CPNE, professional bodies of publishers and editors, which are the guardian institutions of the print media of Pakistan. His services to the country have been recognised by various governments. He has received the Sitara-i-Pakistan, Sitara-i-Imtiaz and the single greatest honour that can be awarded, the Nishan-i-Imtiaz. General Zia-ul-Haq recommended him as a nominee to the Shura (Parliament), Prime Minister Junejo suggested the Governorship of the Punjab to him and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with his father offered him the Presidency of the country. All of which he respectfully declined, saying that the title of the editor of Nawa-i-Waqt is what best grants him the opportunity and privilege of serving his country.
