A strange situation has arisen within the newsrooms of Pakistan Today and Profit over the past couple of weeks. It is a conundrum that others in newsrooms across the country may possibly also be facing.
How do we report on Mohsin Naqvi? Yesterday Mr Naqvi was on a visit to Kakul to check in on the Pakistan men’s national cricket team. The team is there on an intensive training regimen under the supervision of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The question is, do we refer to Mr Naqvi as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) or as the Interior Minister?
Mr Naqvi has had a lot on his plate over the past year or so. He first served as Chief Minister of Punjab for a year (a longer stint than many even though he was a caretaker) before he was appointed PCB Chairman while he was still the CM. Quite soon after the new government took over, he was also tapped as the interior minister. On top of this, Mr Naqvi has applied for a senate seat and will soon have duties of the upper house to attend to if he is successful.
In such a situation, it can often get confusing how to refer to Mr Naqvi. Do we treat him simply as two different entities? When reporting on matters of sports is he just the PCB Chairman and when discussing politics is he just the interior minister? Or perhaps both his designations should be mentioned any time he is being reported on.
Our concerns of course are miniscule. Mr Naqvi has a lot more to worry about than silly matters of stylesheet. He is responsible not just for fixing a fast fracturing Pakistan Cricket Team but also coordinating a response against increasing terrorist activity in the country.
One worries for all he has to do. After all, he is working two full time jobs and not taking a salary for either. There is some precedent for holding high office and also running cricket in the country. The late Field Marshal Ayub Khan was both Army Chief and President of Pakistan when he was chairman of the then Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) from 1958-1960 before handing it over to Justice Cornellius. The late Chief Justice thankfully didn’t take the job while he was still the country’s premier judge, but he did take up the appointment the very next month after his retirement.
Of course, Mr Naqvi is in a particularly unique position that presents unique challenges. He is holding two jobs that many have failed to do justice by in the past. Juggling both might just be beyond everyone, not just him.
