By Farooq Mirza
NASSAU COUNTY, USA – A wave of concern has swept through the Pakistani-American community after Majeeb Lodhi, a distinguished community figure and the Editor and Publisher of the weekly newspaper ‘Pakistan News,’ was arrested by the Nassau County Police. The community was left wondering about the reasons behind this action against such an important and respected personality.
In this regard, certain community circles were particularly abuzz, questioning why such a prominent individual was arrested and what the underlying issues were. It has been noted that until now, no journalist organization or individual journalist has protested or attempted to investigate this matter thoroughly.
Majeeb Lodhi has been the Chief Editor of Pakistan News for the past 30 years. This weekly newspaper is not only published in Nassau County but also in several US States including Pakistan, where it is distributed. A digital version is also widely available. He is a central figure in community affairs, whether they are Pakistan’s national day celebrations, diplomatic events, festivals, or any other major community matter. His work encompasses politics, business, religious affairs, and notably, service to mosques, which is a daily routine for him.
Recently, it was observed that four years ago, a young lawyer, Shahryar, was launched from Nassau County, and his entire media campaign was managed by Majeeb Lodhi through his newspaper. His media efforts not only organized various rallies, seminars, and corner meetings for him but also promoted the young candidate extensively. Although Shahryar lost by a very small margin that time, he has now re-emerged for the same Republican seat and is currently a candidate for the assembly from Nassau County. However, it was noticed that this time, Mr. Lodhi is not his media partner.
This led to significant speculation within various circles, with theories circulating as to why the partnership did not materialize this time. It is believed that due to some political differences and matters of mutual interest, Mr. Lodhi felt that his longtime friends, including Akram Chaudhry, who holds an important position in Nassau County, and his son, did not adequately acknowledge his services. Consequently, Mr. Lodhi joined the Democratic Party and announced that he would run for office himself in future elections.
Speaking to Farooq Mirza, Mr. Lodhi revealed the primary reason he believes led to his arrest. He stated that he had announced a “Meet and Greet” program for the Democratic Party, which brought together the Long Island community, business leaders, religious leaders, as well as young men and women. He organized a large Democratic function.
Mr. Lodhi told Farooq Mirza that a day before the “Meet and Greet” program, his longtime friends, Mohsin Shah and Akram Chaudhry, came to his house, ate food there, and requested him to cancel or somehow terminate this Democratic program. Mr. Lodhi said they tried to pressure him and persuade him in every way to call off the program, but he refused.
He claimed that his refusal to cancel the program became the reason for his arrest. He stated, “My friends, among whom I name Akram Chaudhry, launched a child (a young person) at me. After the convention ended, I was engaged in service at the mosque when this child repeatedly came close to me. I warned him, ‘Please do not come near me.’ Then, this child tried to approach me under some pretext, and when he tried to advance towards me, I stopped him. The child could not maintain his balance and fell down the stairs.”
“After that,” Mr. Lodhi continued, “for an hour, this child distributed the flyers he had, which were from the Republicans and others, among the people present. I was astonished when suddenly Mr. Chaudhry, Akram Sahib, arrived, and after that, the scene changed completely. Suddenly, the Nassau County Police appeared, and they arrested me on the charge of harassing that child They released me two hours later.”
He further said, “Whatever the political differences may be, such a great injustice against a journalist with 30 years of service will always be remembered. I will give a full response to this. If it were a political matter, it wouldn’t be such a big issue, but this has become a personal matter. These are the same friends who were close to me; I supported them in every way, even launched their son. But by waging a personal war, they have damaged my reputation. Especially since I am a sick person with a heart stent, and getting me arrested in this condition is a very significant personal move on their part.”
We have informed the community exactly in the manner that Majeeb Lodhi described the events.
Chaudhry Akram Sahib is a very close friend of ours, and his son, Mr. Shahryar, is currently a candidate. The elections are due in the next few days. The pages of “The Vigilant “ News Paper are available for them. If they wish to present their stance, we will publish it in the same manner. We have no personal grudge in this matter.
However, we strongly condemn targeting any journalist to this extent, even to the point of getting them arrested. This deserves a major community-wide response. These are the same people whom our local media builds up as leaders, and then they become so important that they forget the very media that helped them.
The Vigilant Media Watchdog will always stand with journalists, and we will not tolerate the humiliation of any journalist.
