Farhad Zaidi (1931–2022) was a Pakistani journalist.[1]
Biography
Born into a Syed family in 1931 in Jaunpur, British India, Zaidi moved with his family to Lahore, Pakistan, where he spent most of his career.[2][3]
Zaidi began his journalism career in the 1950s, working for Urdu newspapers such as Daily Imroze, Nawaiwaqt, and Daily Mashriq.[2][3] He later became the editor of Hurriyat, a Dawn Media Group publication, where he introduced a new style of journalism that focused on human interest stories, civic issues, and politically charged op-ed articles.[2][3]
During his career, Zaidi held various positions, including a management role at the English-language daily, Muslim, in Islamabad.[2][3] He served two terms as the president of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society and was a preferred interviewer for PTV during pre-election periods.[2][3]
In 1978, Zaidi, along with Ghazi Salahuddin, protested against the military dictatorship's press restrictions, resulting in a brief imprisonment.[2] His experiences from this period were published in the weekly Mayar.[2]
In the 1990s, Zaidi transitioned to television and became the head of PTV.[2] During this period, he also facilitated private sector involvement in state television's news production.[2]
As a poet, Zaidi's wrote an epic poem "Sharif Aadmi" in response to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's execution.[2]