JournalismPakistan.com | Published May 14, 2022
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ISLAMABAD—The coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made Fahd Husain, a former resident editor of daily Dawn, his special assistant.
According to a notification issued by the Prime Minister's Office, under rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business 1973, Husain has been appointed as special assistant to the prime minister with the status of a federal minister, with immediate effect.
Fahd, a nephew of PMLN leader Senator Mushahid Hussian, becomes the first journalist to get an official posting in the coalition government.
Commenting on the appointment, Rauf Klasra termed it a sad development. In his tweet, he said: "Fahd Hussain has been my editor at The News. A fine gentleman and professional. But his decision to become minister in Shahbaz Sharif Govt will further put dent in already falling credibility of jjournalism&journalists. We all ll get hit from our critics who think we are sold out.Sad"
Another twitterati Zubair Abbasi felt that by appointing Husain as special assistant, the prime minister ignored other "hard working journalists" such as Asma Shirazi, Gharida Farooqi and Saleem Safi. "I protest on Fahd Husain's appointment as SAPM. Asma, Gharida and Safi worked harder. This is injustice."
Anchor Imran Riaz Khan also termed Fahd's decision to join the government as a sad development. In a tweet in Urdu, he said he has worked with Husain for eight years and felt his journalistic stature is much higher than the official position. He also felt that Fahd was inclined towards the Pakistan Democratic Alliance, which is now in power.
As an article by Fahd was published in Dawn on Saturday, the newspaper said the article went into print before the announcement of "Mr. Hussain's new assignment."
After Shehbaz Sharif took oath in April, journalist Khawar Ghumman had said that at least six journalists would be given positions in the government.
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