“Satire is about telling the truth to rulers. It is about pushing the boundaries to offer constructive criticism. It is also about being able to laugh about things,” said Jugnu Mohsin, publisher of The Friday Times, on Saturday.
Mohsin kept the audiences enthralled in her session in the Lahore Literatary Festival titled The Making of Political Satire. The session was moderated by singer and columnist Ali Aftab Saeed.
The hour-long session was attended by over 700 people.
Mohsin said in post-independence Pakistan, there was a tradition of satire evident in the Urdu press which drew inspiration from protests against the political leadership of the country.
Mohsin shared anecdotes from which she drew inspiration to write satire columns on politicians like late Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan.
She said that she had a great respect and affection for all politicians. The intention of her satire was “well meant.”
“Please don’t take any of this [satire] wrong,” she said.
“Benazir Bhutto had a very tolerant and democratic attitude towards the press.” she said.
She said inspiration for her work on Bhutto came from meetings and personal interactions with politicians.
Mohsin also mimicked Bhutto leaving the audience in fits of laughter.
She said her satirical work Ittefaaqnama was not received that well by Nawaz Sharif.
“Mian Sahib didn’t have a sense of humour back then,” she said.
She said writing a satire piece on Sharif required effort.
“Finding a voice is very important in satire,” she said. “When I wrote Ittefaaqnama, I used to think in Punjabi and then write in English.”
Despite the “well-intended humour”, she said, she probably crossed a line which resulted in the arrest of her husband journalist Najam Sethi.
“A relentless battle was waged for freedom of press which is sacred to us. It needed to be fought for,” she said.
She said her piece on Imran Khan, Howzzat, which she wrote in 1996 was received well by Khan.
“He seemed to have a sense of humour but only in the beginning,” she said.
She said General Pervez Musharraf was very tolerant of her satirical writings.
Aftab asked when Mohsin would work on a diary on Altaf Hussain, who leads the Muttahida Qaumi Movment.
Mohsin said it was true that nothing had been written on him yet.
“He does give me a call once in a while,” she added cheerfully.
She said she might write on Bilawal Bhutto soon.
“I have been observing his voice and style of oration which is necessary for satire. Lets not forget that he is a very brave young man,” she said.
When she was asked if she had had help from anonymous sources, she said they were not the same as her husbands.
“I, too, would like to know Najam’s chirya!” she joked.
On satire in public spaces, she said, “Satire against ideas is present in public spheres in the form of rally slogans. This is the satire of the highest order.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2014.