WHEN Jang, Pakistan’s most widely read Urdu newspaper, recently published its editorial page without an editorial, it sparked a provocative question: has the era of the editorial come to an end? For critics, the answer seems obvious.
They point out that editorials are among the least-read items in newspapers, that many international publications have already abandoned the tradition and that in a time when the printed press itself struggles for survival, such an old-fashioned form seems irrelevant.
Yet the obituary of the editorial may be premature. To understand its place in modern journalism, one must first revisit its history—particularly in South Asia, where the editorial has always carried a distinctive role. The editorial emerged in the late eighteenth century, as editors moved beyond the bare transmission of news to provide explanation and judgment. In Western journalism, the editorial was a platform for reasoned opinion, the institutional voice of the paper. In South Asia, however, it acquired an even larger significance.
Here, newspapers were not simply vehicles of information. During colonial rule, they became instruments of public education, political mobilization and resistance. The editorial was not just a commentary; it was often a call to action. It sought to shape national consciousness, to interpret the struggle against colonial power and to guide readers in turbulent times. This difference in origin explains why the editorial remained central to journalism in India and later in Pakistan long after it had begun to lose prominence in the West. After 1947, Pakistan’s press inherited this spirit. The early Urdu newspapers combined sharp opinion with political activism. Reading the archives of Zamindar or Inqilab makes clear how deeply the editorial was tied to debates about identity and nationhood. National and international issues alike were treated as arenas for moral and political positioning.
The 1950s and 1960s saw the rise of distinctive editorial voices. Nawa-i-Waqt earned credibility for its bold stances on national questions, standing firm during the Ayub Khan era and gaining trust among pro-democracy circles. By contrast, Jang under Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman pursued a more business-oriented and neutral approach. Its editorials often skirted firm positions—an attempt to reflect Western-style neutrality. Yet, over time, this ambiguity diminished the editorial’s impact, especially as writers like Syed Muhammad Taqi mastered the art of saying much without really saying anything. The 1960s and 1970s were Pakistan’s decades of ideological journalism. On the left, Pakistan Times and Imroze, shaped by Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, championed progressive ideals with vigour. Their editorials were not mere opinions but ideological manifestos, part of a broader intellectual movement.
On the right, Urdu Digest, Zindagi and later Jasarat offered a counterpoint. Altaf Hasan Qureshi’s editorials under the banner Kuch Apni Zubaan Mein were unapologetically partisan, rooted in Islamic thought. Similarly, during Bhutto’s era, the editorials that Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami wrote under his own signature in his weekly Zindagi also played a bold and leading role in shaping public opinion. Jasarat, especially under the influence of Professor Mateen-ur-Rehman Murtaza, developed a unique editorial style: bold in opinion yet explanatory rather than revelatory. Unlike Nawa-i-Waqt, which thrived on inside information and leaks, Mateen Sahib’s pieces sought to clarify complex situations, offering readers both understanding and perspective. His work demonstrated that editorials could be both intellectually rigorous and accessible to a broad readership.
These decades established the editorial as a key site of ideological contestation. To read the editorial page was to engage with the intellectual battleground of the nation. The 1980s and 1990s, however, marked a sharp decline. As the newspaper industry commercialized and then entered crisis, editorials were increasingly treated as a formality. In many Urdu papers, the least qualified staff were tasked with writing them. Often they amounted to little more than recycled news reports with a few token sentences of commentary. For readers, there was little incentive to revisit yesterday’s news with no added insight.
And yet, to dismiss the editorial as obsolete is to overlook Pakistan’s present needs. The country remains, even after more than seventy-five years, at an early stage of political consciousness. Public understanding of democracy, governance and political accountability remains shallow—not only among the masses but often among political workers themselves. In such an environment, the editorial has a renewed relevance. Its task is not simply to declare positions but to provide clarity, to educate and to shape debate in a disciplined and thoughtful way. A strong editorial can help foster the kind of political maturity that Pakistan’s democracy requires. One objection is frequently raised: newspapers must remain neutral and neutrality precludes strong opinion. But neutrality need not mean silence. An editorial can remain impartial while still offering context, explanation and reasoned interpretation of events. It can model rational argument in an age of emotional outbursts.
The challenge, therefore, is not whether editorials should survive but whether they can be restored to the standards that once made them central to South Asian journalism. If they return to their original role—as guides to public understanding and as forums for principled opinion—they may again command respect and readership. The Jang experiment of publishing without an editorial should not be taken as a verdict on the genre’s death. Rather, it should serve as a wake-up call. The editorial has withered not because the form itself is outdated, but because quality has been sacrificed. To revive it is to invest once more in thoughtful, principled journalism. For a fragile democracy like Pakistan’s, that investment may be more necessary than ever.
—This writer is former advisor to the President of Pakistan, author & mass media theorist.
(farooq.adilbhuta@gmail,com)
