Pakistan Link: America’s Pakistani Weekly Newspaper, Explained
Search for “Pakistan Link” and you’ll find one clear answer: a weekly newspaper for Pakistani Americans, published in Anaheim, California. This profile explains what the paper is, who runs it, what it covers, and why it matters to the diaspora it serves.
Quick answer: Pakistan Link is a weekly broadsheet newspaper published in Anaheim, California by PL Publications for the Pakistani-American community. It publishes in English and Urdu (the Urdu edition is the Urdu Link), is led by president Arif Zaffar Mansuri and editor Akhtar Mahmud Faruqui, and is available in print across the US and online at pakistanlink.org.
The Paper’s Identity
Pakistan Link is a weekly newspaper in broadsheet format, published by PL Publications from Anaheim, California. Its audience is the Pakistani-American community — immigrants and their families living across the United States. The paper appears in two languages: the English Pakistan Link and the Urdu Urdu Link.
The paper describes itself as the most subscribed USA-based Pakistani-American newspaper. Its print distribution runs throughout the United States, and copies are also sold through ethnic grocery stores in the US and Canada — the traditional newsstand of the South Asian diaspora.
Leadership & Columnists
The masthead is led by Arif Zaffar Mansuri, the paper’s president and managing editor, with Akhtar Mahmud Faruqui as editor — a longstanding figure in Pakistani-American journalism. Abdus Sattar Ghazali serves as Reporter at Large.
The opinion pages carry the paper’s voice. Regular columnists include Nayyer Ali, Dr. S. A. Hussain, Dr. Ghulam M. Haniff, S. Arif Hussaini, Mowahid Shah and Dr. Mahjabeen Islam. Nayyer Ali’s standing in the community was visible nationally in December 2007, when the US press sought his perspective — as a Pakistan Link columnist — on Pakistani-American reaction to Benazir Bhutto’s assassination on 27 December 2007, quoting him in the Long Beach Press-Telegram’s coverage.
Its Role in the Community
Diaspora weeklies do a job mainstream papers don’t. For first-generation immigrants, Pakistan Link is a bridge between two worlds: homeland headlines — Pakistani politics, major events, cricket — reported in a familiar voice, alongside the practical fabric of American immigrant life: community events, businesses, religious gatherings and civic affairs.
That dual mission is why the two language editions matter. The English paper reaches the second generation, professionals and anyone following Pakistan from the US — including journalists and policymakers. The Urdu Link serves the first generation in the language spoken at home. Together they keep a geographically scattered community — from California to the New York–New Jersey tristate area — reading the same conversation each week.
How to Read It
Online at pakistanlink.org, which carries current stories and archives. In print, the weekly is distributed across the United States and sold through South Asian grocery stores in the US and Canada. Subscription and advertising details are published on the paper’s own website. For the full breakdown of both editions, see our companion guide: Pak Links: Editions, Urdu Link and How to Read the Paper.
FAQs
Is Pakistan Link a daily newspaper?
No. Pakistan Link is a weekly newspaper, published once a week in broadsheet format from Anaheim, California.
Who is the editor of Pakistan Link?
Akhtar Mahmud Faruqui is the editor; Arif Zaffar Mansuri is the president and managing editor. The paper is published by PL Publications.
Does Pakistan Link have an Urdu edition?
Yes. The Urdu-language edition is called the Urdu Link, serving Urdu-reading members of the Pakistani-American community.
