Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman

Mir Shakil ur Rehman, (b. January 8, 1957) is the Group Editor-in-Chief and Group Chief Executive of the Jang Group. He has led the group ever since the demise of the group’s founder, Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman in January 1992.

Brief biography

Mir Shakil ur Rehman made his mark at a relatively young age by assuming major responsibilities including those of printing and editorial, later on followed by that of general management and operations in various publications of the group. He has an experience of more than 25 years which are marked by major initiatives that have made a lasting impact on the history of Pakistani journalism and Media industry.

Business Endeavors

He started his professional career as Managing Editor of the group’s English Eveninger, the News International. His first major challenge was the launch of MAG, an English weekly from Karachi in 1980.

Instrumental in launching Jang (Lahore) Urdu daily

The Daily Jang (جنگ) was a widely circulated Urdu language daily newspaper in Pakistan. After the successful launch of MAG, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was assigned the task of launching Jang’s Lahore edition. This was not only a major challenge, but an equally tremendous opportunity. Jang Lahore soon became a milestone in the history of Urdu journalism. It was launched with state-of-the art technology in pre-production and printing. And introduced computerized Nasta'liq photo typesetting. Confronted with formidable competition and a different kind of readership, Jang Lahore was an instant success. Urdu journalism in Lahore and elsewhere has never been the same again.

Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman also launched Jang Publishers, which has become one of the country’s leading book publishing establishments.

Instrumental in launching The News English daily

An even more remarkable accomplishment of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was the launch of The News International, an English daily which started publishing simultaneously from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad, in February 1991 and a subsequent edition was launched from London. Under the leadership and creative foresight of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, The News International, soon revolutionalised the newspaper industry with its state-of-the-art technology and its new editorial concepts. The face of English journalism has undergone a radical change since the launch of The News International. It not only became the first nationally distributed English newspaper but also served as a trend-setter for the industry as other newspapers soon followed the trends laid down by it.

Launched internet editions of his newspapers

MSR has keenly followed trends in the international media and has strived to implement them in his group. He also made his mark in electronic media. The internet editions of The News and Daily Jang are also reflective of his interest in this regard. And are among some of the most popular online newspaper sites on the web. The popularity of The News website is so wide that Queen Elizabeth of Britain mentioned it in her official address during her visit to Pakistan in October, 1997.

Launched Pakistan's premier TV station GEO

MSR launched Satellite Television GEO in August 2002 and in a short period it has emerged as the most popular TV channel of the country. Its superb performance is acknowledged not only domestically but on international media scene as well and Excellence Award from National Association of Broadcasters of USA (NAB) for the year 2004. He has also made his mark in cable and radio business.

He is also in process of launching (DTH) Direct to Home services in Pakistan with State of the Art technology.

Launched Daily Awam, Awaz and Inqilab Urdu newspapers

Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s another achievement was the launch of an Urdu eveninger from Karachi, Daily Awam in 1994 which is now the largest circulated eveninger in Pakistan. Urdu newspaper Awaz was launched from Lahore in 1998. His latest initiative is the launch of Urdu Daily Inqilab from Lahore on 1-10-2002.

Journalism industry leader

Editor-in-Chief of many newspapers

As Editor-in-Chief, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman provides editorial leadership to Jang Karachi, Jang Lahore, Jang Rawalpindi, Jang Quetta, Jang Multan, The News Karachi, The News Lahore, The News Rawalpindi/Islamabad, MAG Weekly Karachi, Daily News Karachi and Jang-The News London. He is Chief Executive of Independent Newspapers Corporation (Pvt.) Ltd., and News Publications (Pvt.) Ltd.

Leader of professional organisations

Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is President of All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), also served this representative organization of newspaper publishers of Pakistan in 1994-95 and in 1999-2001 in the same capacity. He also remained President of Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) in 2002- 2004, representative organization of newspaper editors in Pakistan. He is a member of International Press Institute and also heads the Pakistan Chapter of the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU).

Supporter of media research

Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has been a great supporter of independent media research. Under his guidance the Jang Group became the first media group in Pakistan to undertake comprehensive independent research on media habits through some leading research agencies like Aftab Associates and Gallup Pakistan. He believes in delivering the best value to advertise for his ad Rupee.

Widely travelled with global contacts

MSR has traveled widely and maintains a number of international contacts in media.

Mir Shakil ur Rehman is the Group Chief Executive, Group Chairman and Group Editor in Chief of Jang Group of Companies of Pakistan and hold seventy five percent (75%) shares of these companies. This is the largest media group of Pakistan which is involved in Publishing of Newspapers and Magazines in Urdu and English with the largest circulation in the country and owns Cable, Radio, TV channels and Websites.

This group publishes eight Urdu language daily newspapers ( Daily Jang from Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Quetta, Daily Awaz Lahore, Daily Awam Karachi and Daily Inquilab Lahore) four English language daily newspapers ( Daily The News from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad and Daily News Karachi), one Urdu weekly [[Akhbar-e-Jehan] and one English weekly Mag , all having largest circulations in their categories. International editions of Daily Jang and Daily The News are also published from London.

The Group's Satellite TV channel namely GEO, apart from Pakistan and India also broadcasted for South Asian viewers of Middle East and Europe. We have recently launched GEO TV broadcast in USA for South Asian community residing across USA through one of US top direct to home satellite network Echostar. GEO is an International Channel based in Dubai.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the biggest broadcasters association of the world, based in Washington, D.C. has awarded 2004 International Broadcasting Excellence Award to GEO TV in an international reception at NAB2004 in Las Vegas on April 19, 2004, for demonstrating exceptional leadership in providing services to the community.

According to Gallup GEO is highly rated and is the most watched satellite channel in Pakistan.

In a news item on January 25, 2004, The New York Times reported 'GEO has changed Pakistan’s media landscape'. The New York Times also quoted director of Internews, an international nonprofit organization which supports open media saying ‘In a very short time, this will be a very different Pakistan. And history will say GEO changed it all.’

BBC NEWS website published a detailed review on GEO’s popular program Shaadi Online and commented- the show has become an instant success, with its rating scaling new heights.

GEO has been awarded Best Electronic Mass Media Award 2004 by Pakistan Advertising Association. GEO TV is associate member of Asia- Pacific Broadcasting Union.

US State department regularly monitors GEO TV. State department’s website has transcripts of interviews of Mr. Colin Powell, Mr. Richard Armitage and General Richard B. Myer conducted by GEO staffers and broadcasted on GEO TV.

In Pakistan we are working as partners of CNN. Jang Group is widely quoted by International media including Time, Newsweek, AFP, Reuters, CNN and BBC.

Jang Group Official Website is the highest visited Pakistani website and have high ratings world wide. According to newspapers portal OnlineNewspapers.Com, website of [www.jang.com.pk Urdu daily Jang] is continuously on the top of 50 most popular newspapers accessed through this portal from last so many months.

Jang Group website is among top 100 global newspaper websites as per www.allyoucanread.com and placed at number 15.

According to ‘World Press Trends’ an yearly report published by World Association of Newspapers a Paris based prominent body of World newspaper publishers and editors, Daily Jang is among top 100 newspapers of the world.

Mir Shakil ur Rahman is chairman of Pakistan chapter of Common Wealth Press Union, also member of Newspaper Association of America (NAA).

He is president All Pakistan Newspapers Society and also remained President of this representative body of newspaper publishers and also President of Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors in 1995-96 and 2003-04

He is member of Young President’s Organization, a premier organization of more than 8000 young global business leaders founded in New York in 1950.

Mir Shakil ur Rahman also contributed a popular column in the newspaper Daily Jang under the title Shehar ki baatain.

Independent Newspapers Corporation (pvt) Limited (INCL) is flag ship company of Mir Shakil ur Rahman.

This group has around 5000 employees having the largest network of about 700 reporters and correspondents in Pakistan. It has correspondents in major cities of the world including Washington, New York, London, Tokyo, Toronto, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Holland.

Jang Group's bankers are Barclay of UK, Standard and Chartered Bank, Citi Bank Pakistan, Habib Allied UK and Habib Bank Ltd. Pakistan.

Jang Group is partner of Microsoft Corporation in its Information Technology training programs in Pakistan.

Stars Of Asia - Innovators

Busting Pakistan's "Monopoly On Truth"

Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, Founder and Group Chairman, GEO TV, Pakistan

Mir Shakil-Ur-Rahman is no stranger to the news business. When he was a child, he spent every lunch break from school at his father's newspaper office, learning the ropes. He was lucky. Dad had founded and built up a major print media group. When Rahman took over, he extended the group's reach into electronic media. Now, at 47, he's one of Pakistan's biggest media magnates as founder of GEO TV, the country's most-watched satellite news channel.

More important, Rahman has revolutionized the way ordinary Pakistanis perceive the world around them. For more than four decades, the nation's 152 million citizens had access only to state-owned TV, whose "news" offerings were pure propaganda for the government. In the 1980s and '90s, as Karachi erupted in ethnic violence, people would hear bombs exploding around them, but TV news would fail to report what was going on.

Three years ago, President Pervez Musharraf decided to open up the electronic media, and the government auctioned off licenses to set up private TV channels. Dozens of entertainment and news channels have since been set up, and more are in the pipeline. Lead-ing the pack is GEO TV's Rahman, whose Jang Group also publishes 12 newspapers and two magazines.

Rahman never thought the print media had much potential to change the way Pakistanis perceive national and world events, given the low levels of literacy. "State-owned TV had one mind-set, and nothing came into Pakistani minds from another point of view," he says. "I thought national development could only take place through a private television channel in our own language." So he created GEO in October, 2002, adding 2,000 employees to Jang Group's existing 3,000. Some 500 journalists went through a six-month training program with international media consultants. A network of reporters was developed across Pakistan and in 10 major cities throughout the world.

Now, for the first time, Pakistanis can watch exploding bombs, terrorist attacks, and market crashes -- live or on tape. "GEO has broken the monopoly on truth in Pakistan," says Rahman. GEO also covers foreign affairs such as the Iraq war and Pakistan-India peace talks. While 70% of Pakistan's TV viewers are still in the cities, GEO's audience is growing by 30% a year. "The timing has been perfect because it has brought us news of so many important regional issues,"says Jamal Mir, managing director of Prestige Communications, a Karachi advertising agency.

Despite its success, the TV project has taken a financial toll on Rahman's company. On top of $50 million in set-up costs, he forks out $3.5 million a month to keep GEO on the air. That's because when GEO began, it was technically impossible to uplink to satellite from Pakistan, so the channel set up shop in Dubai. Rahman expects a license in Pakistan soon, which will lower costs. Revenues rose 35%, to $25 million, in 2004. Losing so much money isn't crimping Rahman's ambition. Once GEO is in the black, he aims to make it even bigger. Looks like this father of nine is building a media empire for the next generation.

Geo documentary has recently won Monte Carlo film award:

A documentary of Geo covering water scarcity in Indus river delta has won the environment category award in Monte Carlo film festival. The exclusive report by Geo correspondent Ghulam Mustafa and cameraman Aziz Ahmed has highlighted the grim situation of the Indus delta areas bearing brunt of the saline seawater intrusion due to water scarcity in the river. The report covers grim aspects of life in the Indus delta region.

Low profile

Media analysts say that Mir Shakil always plays from behind the scene. He very rarely publishes his own activities as news or feature items. Among Mir Shakil's employees are the best people available in Pakistan. His business is spreading around the world by leaps and bounds.

Mir Shakil is trying his best to bring peace in the South Asian region, especially between Pakistan and India. During a business tour of India, he said, "India’s positive image due to its films, TV--Musharraf has opened up business opportunities, media; Indo-Pak film-makers must not demonise RAW, ISI; Yash Chopra’s brand means wholesome entertainment..." [1]

Accusations and controversies

In 1998 the Pakistani government of prime minister Nawaz Sharif took action against Mir Shakil on charges of tax theft but soon it refrained from its position. Conspiracy theorists believe that Mir Shakil’s Jang Group has also a rule I the removal of the Nawaz government in the very next year, 1999. There have been a number of accusations and controversies about Mir Shakil and his Jang Group:

• Mir Shakil’s Jang Group is accused by journalists and many other groups of being "the mouthpiece of the existing government" and promoter of self-censorship journalism in Pakistan. Professional journalists in the country also accuse Mir Shakil for destroying the much respected institution of the 'editorship' in the newspaper industry-- After the death of his father he is reportedly hiring incompetent and flattering people as the so called 'chairman editorial committee' not on professional and intellectual but on on political basis.
• He is the president of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), an influential body of all newspapers' owners in Pakistan. Therefore he is not only accused of denying the rights of his hundreds of thousands employees across the country but also thought to be the biggest hurdle in the implementation of the Wage Board Award of newspaper employees in the country. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists is often demonstrating for the rights of the working journalists of the country.
• Some business groups accuse him of blackmailing—they say if Jang Group is not given advertisement, it gives news reports against those uncooperative parties.
• Tax theft and many other corruption charges are labeled against Mir and his business empire. In 1999 the then Pakistani government officials announced that Jang Group owes customs duties on previous shipments of newsprint amounting to 1.6 billion rupees (US$31.4 million). The government also accused the group tax evasion of more than 2 billion rupees (US$40 million).
• Some conservative Pakistanis believe that Mir Shakil is an ‘agent of the West’ and a promoter of Westernization.
• He has many cases in the courts of the country in family feuds on the ownership of many of the business units.
• He is believed to be the owner of many unknown inland and offshore companies and has accused of undeclared assets around the globe.
• Mir Shakil is known as a 'dictator' in his approach and thought by his family members and employees.

Also see

• Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists
• Mir Khalil ur Rehman
• Mir Ibrahim Rahman
• Jang
• Jang Group
• Jang Group Website
• The News International
• Geo TV
• Geo TV Website

External Links

• Jang Official Website
• Geo TV
• Akhbar-e-Jehan
• Pakistan's most popular matrimonial website for match making
• Mir Shakil's speach in India (Urdu)
• Interview with Mir Shakil-ur- Rahman