Twenty-five years ago, nobody imagined that an Urdu newspaper and Urdu journalism could stand the test of time in North America, let alone reach such heights of success and professional excellence and be recognized internationally for its journalistic standard. By the grace of God, Urdu Times earned this distinction.

Urdu Times hit the newsstands in 1980 at a time when there was dearth of both Urdu newspaper readers as well as businesses to support it. When the launching of the weekly paper was announced, many prudent people called it an act of insanity. There was some truth here, since the Urdu community remained elusive even after a search was made for communities across the nation. Such was the climate for the birth of the Urdu Times.

In the beginning Urdu Times reached a very limited number of people. People neither had full understanding of the advantages of a newspaper, nor did they know much about the benefits of advertising in a newspaper. In reality, in those days the Urdu community’s business class was limited to a few convenience stores, grocery stores, sweet shops and small time corporations. Urdu-speaking doctors, engineers and technocrats were scarce back then, rarely seen in this country, and the few professionals who were here were not very keen to reading an Urdu newspaper. In fact many of them would believe that reading an Urdu newspaper in North America would negate the cultural norms of this land. Thus seeking advertisements from them was an exercise in futility.

But Khalilur Rehman, founder and publisher of Urdu Times, took on the challenge and difficult responsibility of starting a newspaper. Thanks to his iron will and determination – in the beginning Rehman was the paper’s editor, publisher and worker – the newspaper prospered, despite economic constraints. Undeterred, Rehman personally introduced the newspaper to the community, distributing the newspaper by carrying the bundles on his shoulders through the hot summers to the chilly winter snow and storms. His hard work paid off.

Urdu Times became immensely popular in the budding Pakistani community. When the bumpy road was over and better times came, more Urdu-language newspapers hit the stands. The signs of expansion became visible in business circles.

The Urdu Times’ influence and outreach also started to grow. Now the Urdu Times is a household name not only in New York’ Urdu-speaking community, but in communities across the United States.

Twenty-five years later, by the grace of God, the Urdu Times is printed simultaneously in four different locations, producing 14 different editions for different regions in the country. The Urdu Times is the most widely read Urdu-language newspaper of North America and has the largest circulation of any Urdu-language weekly newspaper outside Pakistan.

We bow our heads before Allah for giving us the honor of being the founders of Urdu journalism and the first Urdu weekly newspaper in North America. We also thank our advertisers and readers for having encouraged and patronized us for a quarter century. We express our deepest resolve to continue to uphold the highest journalism standards and to provide our readers with a quality newspaper.