KARACHI: Glowing tributes were paid by friends, fellow journalists and colleagues of the late editor of Herald and founding editor of Newsline Razia Bhatti (nee Bondrey) at the inauguration of the Razia Bhatti Seminar Room at the Centre for Excellence in Journalism, Institute of Business Administration (CEJ-IBA) on Thursday. Some hailed her as a crusader, some a torch bearer, while others called her a beacon and an icon.

After leaving the Herald in 1988, Bhatti founded and served as editor-in-chief of Newsline magazine. When she walked out most of her team of journalists also resigned with her and in July 1989, the first issue of Newsline was published with an editor’s note which began with: “Forty-two years down the road from independence, this nation seems to have bartered away the promise of its birth. To a whole generation of Pakistanis, fear and violence, authoritarianism and deceit represent the norm, for they have known no other.

“The press in Pakistan shares the guilt of the nation’s state. It has been silent when it should have spoken, dishonest when it should have been forthright, succumbed when it should have stood fast ...”

“... We promise no miracles, but if somewhere along the road to this nation’s destiny, the truth presented in these pages makes some difference, Newsline will not have been in vain.”

Umber Khairi, member of the Razia Bhatti Memorial Initiative, and also a co-founder of Newsline said that it is apt that there is now a room in Bhatti’s name at CEJ as her name stands for excellence in journalism. She said that for Bhatti mediocrity or sloppiness was not an option. She was a perfectionist who refused to bow down to pressure from the Zia regime. “She is a reminder of how important an editor’s role is to steer one on the road of sanity. An editorial team is like a rudderless ship without an editor,” she said.

Editor of Dawn Zaffar Abbas said that Bhatti was instrumental in pushing Herald towards real journalism. “She would make reporters write stories that were difficult but she was there to take the pressure for them from the government or political parties,” he said. About government pressure and censorship of the media, he said that things were still pretty much the same “so it is still quite frustrating.”

Kamal Siddiqi, director CEJ, said that Newsline produced a number of stars in journalism and Bhatti as its editor who had a quiet determination about her has left a legacy of going against the odds. He said that there is talk of the electronic media overtaking the print media but there will always be relevance for the kind of journalism Bhatti stood for. “The kind of work, investigative journalism, Razia and her team did will never become irrelevant,” he said.

Associate dean of IBA Dr Huma Baqai observed that Bhatti, who was honoured with so many international awards including the Courage in Journalism award by the International Women’s Media Foundation, was not celebrated in Pakistan by being presented with any local award, which, she said, was “extremely unfortunate.”

Bhatti died of brain haemorrhage in 1996.

Her daughter Sara Bhatti unveiled a plaque of Bhatti’s profile and her contribution to the field of journalism.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2018