The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

About Nawa-i-Waqt

Our respected, learned brother Abdul Momin had submitted the following as a comment on the post “False Statement by a Maulana in South Africa”. Due to its length and comprehensive nature, I have added it as a new post.

There was the Nawa-i-Waqt of Hameed Nizami, its founder, and a staunch supporter of the creation of Pakistan. From the Munir Commission report, it is obvious that the Nawa-i-Waqt that he founded was highly objective in its reporting. Having been a supporter of the creation of Pakistan, he must have been fully aware of the credentials of the new proponents of the “idealogy” of Pakistan -the Ahraris -who opposed Pakistan’s creation tooth and nail, and were bent on creating mischief during the disturbances and riots of 1953 in the Punjab.

After Hameed Nizami, the stewardship of this newspaper fell into the hands of Majid Nizami. For this person, any thing said against the Ahmadis is considered the gospel truth. So it comes as no surprise when one reads about the views of some obscure mullah in South Africa as reported in the Nawa-i-Waqt. Since Majid shares the same surname with Hameed Nizami, for years and even decades, I wondered how it was possible that one relative could have taken a position against the Ahmadis so much at variance with that of his relative (if indeed he was his relative). Recently I managed to find some information about this Majid Nizami in an article at the following link:

http://www.nation.com.pk/majid-nizami.html (link opens in new window)

According to this article, this Nizami is the younger brother of Hameed Nizami. It states:

“In 1962, owing to the martial law imposed by Ayub Khan and his takeover of the country, the pressures on Majid Nizami’s beloved brother Hameed Nizami, became too intense for him to bear, resulting in his sudden demise.”

Also according to this article:

“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”.

So Majid Nizami must have well known who the opponents of Pakistan were at its creation, when he took over the editorship of Nawa-i-Waqt. He is staunchly opposed to friendly relations with India as well, as the above article states:

“Owing to the illegal occupation of Kashmir, he remains a fierce and open opponent of friendly relations with India, unless and until the issue is resolved according the UN Resolution on Kashmir. Having visited nearly every country on the world map (most of Europe, including Eastern Europe and Russia during his years in London), Majid Nizami refuses to visit India, even when invited by various Pakistani delegations to accompany them. He cites Bangladesh as being a direct creation of India and believes that India never accepted partition and is relentlessly conspiring to undo Pakistan and undermine its strength.”

Elsewhere, I have read about Majid Nizami’s views concerning the Ahmadis. His pet (rather petty) argument is that HMGA was a “British Agent” to create “disunity” amongst the Muslims. Again when one reads the above quoted article, one finds:

“Majid Nizami proceeded to England in 1954 after obtaining his M.A. degree. Here he remained a student of International Affairs at the University of London and attended Grey’s Inn for the Bar. During this time he wrote consistently for the Nawa-i-Waqt and even before he left for London wrote the famous editorial column SareRahe for two years in Lahore. At the same time he diligently assisted his brother Hameed Nizami in the day-to-day running of the affairs of the business. While in London, Majid Nizami acted as a political reporter for Nawa-i-Waqt and in doing so met many heads of state and other notable world leaders.”

After the death of his brother in 1962, the articles states:

“Majid Nizami’s returned to Pakistan and vowed to follow in his brother’s footsteps. It was early on in Ayub Khan’s dictatorial regime that Majid Nizami took over the reigns of Nawa-i-Waqt. With great courage he opposed the military government and in the presidential elections fearlessly backed the Quaid’s sister, the Madr-e-Millat, Fatima Jinnah as the opposing candidate to the then Foreign Minister”.

It is indeed strange that a person refuses to go to India because it has not reconciled itself with the creation of Pakistan, yet manages to spend 8 years in England (and only returns back to Pakistan when his brother passed away) – a country which tried to “subvert” Islam by introducing a “new prophethood” in it. Not only that, for years after Majid took over, Nawa-i-Waqt has been spewing anti-Ahmadi hatred and giving prominent coverage to everything that comes out from the mouths of the Tahafuzz Khatam-e-Nabuwwat people- the reincarnation of the Ahraris.

Why have the Ahraris been forgiven their anti-Pakistan stance? Could it be that since all those anti-Ahmadi and anti-Pakistan Mullahs were later also in direct opposition to President Ayub Khan, Mr Nizami (far from being an intellectual as the above article would have us believe) just follows the age old saying: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend?”