Dawn (newspaper)

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use Pakistani English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox newspaper Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper that was launched in British India by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1941. It is the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, and is widely considered the country's newspaper of record.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Dawn is the flagship publication of the Dawn Media Group, which also owns local radio station CityFM89 as well as the marketing and media magazine Aurora.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father, launched the newspaper in Delhi on 26 October 1941, with the goal of establishing it as a mouthpiece for the All-India Muslim League. The first issue was printed at Latifi Press on 12 October 1942.<ref name=Dawn>Template:Cite book</ref> Based in Karachi, it also maintains offices in Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and the capital city of Islamabad, in addition to having correspondents abroad.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, it has a weekday circulation of over 109,000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The newspaper's current chief editor is Zaffar Abbas.

History

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of the Dawn newspaper

Dawn began as a weekly publication, based in New Delhi.<ref name="jinnah"/> Under the instruction of Jinnah, it became the official organ of the All India Muslim League in Delhi, and the sole voice of the Muslims League in the English language, reflecting and espousing the cause of Pakistan's creation. Jinnah summed up the paper's purpose in these words:

"The Dawn will mirror faithfully the views of Hindustan's Muslims and the All Hindustan Muslim League in all its activities: economic, educational and social and more particularly political, throughout the country fearlessly and independently and while its policy will be, no doubt, mainly to advocate and champion the cause of the Muslims and the policy and programme of the All Hindustan Muslim League, it will not neglect the cause and welfare of the peoples of this sub-continent generally".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Dawn became a daily newspaper in October 1944 under the leadership of its editor, Pothan Joseph, who later resigned in 1944 to take up the position of the government's principal information officer in part because of differences with Jinnah over the Pakistan Movement. He was succeeded by Altaf Husain who galvanized the Muslims of India for independence by his editorials, which earned him the ire of the Congress Party and of Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy and Governor-General of the British Raj both of whom wanted a united India.<ref name="mom-rsf1">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1947, due to the Partition of India, senior Dawn staff led by Altaf Husain moved to Karachi, which led to that city becoming the head office of the newspaper.<ref name="mom-rsf1"/>

In 1950, for a brief period, the owners discontinued Dawn over ownership issues and restarted it as Herald.<ref name="editors">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="mom-rsf1"/>

On 12 November 2025, Dawn mistakenly printed a business report that still contained a ChatGPT prompt, violating the paper's own AI-use policy, and later retracted the text with a public apology.<ref>https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/pakistans-biggest-newspaper-dawn-started-by-jinnah-publishes-ai-prompt-in-car-sales-news-report-apologises-for-ai-generated-text/articleshow/125294198.cms</ref>

Features

Issue of Dawn newspaper published from Karachi on 15 August 1947

Dawn regularly carries syndicated articles from western newspapers such as The Independent, The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.Template:Citation needed

On Sundays, the weekend advertiser carries three sections namely "Ad Buzz", "Career", and "Real Estate".<ref name="Advertise DAWN">Template:Cite web</ref>

Publication of the US diplomatic cables

On 19 May 2011, Dawn Media Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, for the exclusive first use in Pakistan of all the secret US diplomatic cables related to political and other developments in the country.<ref name="Wikileaks">Announcement, Memorandum of Understanding between Dawn Media Group and Sunshine Press Productions, Dawn (newspaper), Published 19 May 2011, Retrieved 29 July 2017</ref>

An announcement printed in the newspaper and posted on the website read:

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Resignation of Pervaiz Rashid

In 2016, a story, "Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military" by Cyril Almeida, assistant editor and columnist for Dawn, triggered the resignation of Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, after a preliminary investigation established a "lapse" on his part vis-à-vis the publication of the "planted" story.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Editorial stance

Dawn's editorial stance has varied according to its editors and the political context.<ref name="editors"/> Altaf Husain, the second editor, was known for confrontational editorials that challenged government policies and supported the Pakistan Muslim League. His foreign policy view favored a US military alliance before shifting to support ties with China.<ref name="editors"/>

Following Husain, a succession of editors implemented different policies. Jamil Ansari aligned with the Ayub Khan administration, while Yusuf Haroon adopted a conservative approach to maintain independence. Altaf Gauhar, who had previously been involved in creating press laws, transitioned to advocating for free speech. His successor, Mazhar Ali Khan, introduced a progressive stance focused on professional journalism and reasoned critique.<ref name="editors"/>

Ahmad Ali Khan, the longest serving editor, stabilized the newspaper's direction. He balanced a progressive outlook with cautious navigation of the restrictive environment under Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, allowing for subtle critiques of the regime.<ref name="editors"/>

Later editors included Saleem Asmi, who expanded arts coverage and launched new editions, and Abbas Nasir, who adapted the newspaper to the digital age by increasing its online presence.<ref name="editors"/>

Editors

• Pothan Joseph (1944)<ref name="mom-rsf1"/>
• Altaf Husain (1944–1965)<ref name="mom-rsf1"/>
• Jamil Ansari (1965–1966)<ref name="editors"/>
• Yusuf Haroon (1966)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="editors"/>
• Altaf Gauhar (1969–1973)<ref name="mom-rsf1"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Mazhar Ali Khan (1973)<ref name="editors"/>
• Ahmad Ali Khan (1973–2000)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Saleem Asmi (2000–2003)<ref name="editors"/>
• Tahir Mirza (2003–2006)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Abbas Nasir (2006–2010)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Zaffar Abbas (2010–present)<ref name="editors"/>

See also

• Dawn News
• List of newspapers in Pakistan

External links

• Template:Official website