She has been a journalist in Pakistan – and a celebrated one at that – for nearly 30 years. After giving people the news for over a quarter of a century, she has now become a newsmaker.
Jugnu Mohsin won a seat in elections held in Pakistan on July 25 from her hometown Okara and has reserved a berth for herself in the Punjab provincial assembly. She had a resounding victory and got nearly 65,000 votes, defeating her nearest rival by around 22,000 votes. For a first-timer, this is no mean feat.
And what is even more impressive is that she won as an independent candidate.
Jugnu is the publisher of the highly respected English weekly, The Friday Times in Pakistan. She also hosted a talk show on Pakistan’s Geo TV, called “Jugnu”. A recipient of Pakistan’s third highest civilian honour, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, an equivalent of the Padma Shri in India and the OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia) in Australia, she is known for the satirical columns she writes in the weekly, poking harmless political fun at some of the country’s most prominent political figures such as the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and future prime minister Imran Khan.
Jugnu Mohsin in 2007. Source: Getty
Considering her journalistic audacity, she couldn’t be expected to align with any political party. Or, to turn it around, no political party would be willing to exonerate her for her cheeky humour columns.
Journalist to politician
In an interview with SBS Punjabi, Jugnu talks about her journey from being a law student of the prestigious Cambridge University to being a journalist and now a politician via social work for the poor and needy of her hometown.
She also shines a light on the allegations of rigging in the elections and the much-talked-about role of Pakistan’s army in shaping Imran Khan’s victory.
Jugnu also contours how, following charges of corruption, the now disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has elected a new route for himself in defence of democratic principles, which are often decimated in Pakistan.
In addition, being the storyteller that Jugnu is, she tells us how she employed the idiom from the romantic and spiritual legend of Heer-Ranjha to impress upon her electorate to choose between the ruler (the incumbent) and the worker (herself), both of whom were vying for the same electoral victory.
Not to forget, Jugnu’s dialect of Punjabi, which is nothing short of being archaic, despite her British education and English journalism, and her brilliant talent of mimicry, apparently led to her roaring victory.
When asked to describe her career in one sentence, Jugnu tends to wrap her multifaceted personality as this: “I’m 59, with 30 years of experience in journalism, a director of our family business and a farmer, other than being a community worker, of course!”
Listen to this interview in Punjabi here.
