Zaheer Speaks on the Role of the Pakistani-American Media

Mohsin Zaheer is a Pakistani-American journalist and editor based in New York whose work spans two decades. He won the New York Community Media Alliance's Ippies Award in 2009 and has been the beneficiary of numerous Pakistani-American awards. ) In 1989, Zaheer joined Daily Khabrain, Lahore, Pakistan's largest Urdu-language newspaper as a staff reporter, eventually becoming the Deputy Editor of Reporting. Zaheer moved to the U.S. in 1999 and joined the staff of Sada-e-Pakistan, an Urdu-language weekly, as editor. He set a new trend for Pakistani-American media by reporting on local issues and activities taking place in the U.S. His coverage focused on the 9/11 attacks and the wide-raging issues within the Pakistani-American community in its aftermath. Zaheer has written extensively on the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan. He is also founder of “The Pakistani Newspaper" (www.pn.com.pk), the first online publication for the Pakistani American community that launched in 1996. He continues to contribute news stories and columns to Daily Khabrain, Lahore. Zaheer earned his Masters in Political Science and History from the University of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan. 

Zaheer spoke with NYCMA's Nora Kurtz on the role of Pakistani-American media.

NK: What needs does your publication provide that readers can't find in mainstream English-language media?

MZ: Many of our readers cannot read the mainstream media because of the language barrier.  But much of the time, ethnic media can use mainstream media as a source of information.  If there is big news, we may reproduce the story according to how The New York Times first reported it and allow them to find out what's happening in New York, the U.S., and even internationally. As well, there are many issues that are underreported in mainstream media that concern our community. We try our best to cover these issues. 

Additionally, New York is a very diverse community. Pakistanis, for example, are very far from Pakistan. So ethnic media covers what's going on in the native country, as well as current news from the New York Pakistani community. 

NK: What specific issues do you hope to target in the coming months?

MZ: Our first focus is on the Republican takeover in the House.  The immigration reform is pending, and while it used to be on Obama's priority list, Republicans are not too much in favor of these reforms, so we're looking to follow any developments with immigration reform. 

Of big concern to the Pakistani community is the economy, especially in terms of how lower income communities are dealing with unemployment. We will continue to cover job opportunities and any economic aspects with specific regard to immigrant concerns. 

Because Sada-e-Pakistan is an ethnic newspaper, we focus more on day-to-day activities and events in the community. This especially means covering social and political activities.

NK: How do you see immigration reform with the new Congress?

MZ: This issue has been debated for the last ten years in particular, and every time, people were very hopeful, but nothing has been done. By the end of George W. Bush's first term, people were very hopeful, and then again, people were hopeful when Obama’s built his campaign with immigration reform as a priority. Meanwhile, two years later, the Democratic Party has lost the House and the unemployment rate is close to double digits, so if we analyze that with all the previous efforts, I am not hopeful. I don't see any reforms with the Congress coming in 2011.

Yet we cannot judge Obama's job on the basis of the midterm election results. As a journalist, I think Obama’s will show his cards during the second term election. The economy is the main issue of the nation right now, and the Obama administration has been doing its best to improve the economy. If the economy recovers and unemployment goes down, ultimately I would see the 2012 elections going in favor of President Obama.

NK: How has your experience been dealing with the Bloomberg administration?

MZ: I think the Bloomberg administration has done its job very well. The administration has tried to focus more on the development of New York City. They have their own point of view, but they have focused on infrastructure and education, among other issues. 

Before Bloomberg there were concerns about the way Muslims were treated by law enforcement agencies, and once the Bloomberg administration began, he focused more on the city's future and day-to-day affairs. Especially with the Park51 issue, Bloomberg stood with the Muslim community so that gave confidence and support to the Muslim Americans of New York that they have someone who is taking care of their faith and beliefs. I have found that most Muslim Americans are of the view that Bloomberg is doing well. 

But people are concerned because life in New York City is very expensive and outreach to immigrant communities by the Bloomberg Administration has not been satisfying. This is specifically speaking of the outreach to the Pakistani-American community, particularly in terms of housing and small businesses.

Immigrant communities have a lot of problems and the main problem is the language barrier. The biggest need is to cross the language barrier to find the opportunities that are available to everyone, including them. The city needs to make sure that there are opportunities in housing and in the job market. And they need to make sure that all immigrants are aware of these opportunities. If you are not aware of the opportunities, the opportunities mean nothing to you. The mayor and various government agencies should make sure they reach out to immigrant communities as much as possible so that they know what's going on in the city, and they can have equal opportunities to access resources that are available to everyone.