Mushahid Hussain is just doing his job. He stands out because he is a former journalist defending a government that is hounding the press.
Pakistan's Information Minister Mushahid Hussain Syed has two personas: one journalistic which cultivates easy camaraderie with the press in Pakistan, the other political which bows to the culture of defending the government, right or wrong. If a journalist is wronged by his government, he will let him know privately the wrong happened because his advice was rejected, then issue a strong official statement justifying the action.
This split personality has hurt Mushahid both ways. It has caused disenchantment among the journalist community, and it has undermined his status within the party in power. In April when the Jang Group of newspapers were under attack from Nawaz Sharif government (see Himal March 1999), he sent out secret messages saying he had advised against the action. Later it was revealed that he was very much part of the crackdown.
In the aftermath of the 'arrest' of Najam Sethi, chief editor of The Friday Times weekly, he has repeated the routine. In Hong Kong, he privately let on to his critics that he was not involved, but officially defended the arrest and secret confinement of Sethi on charges of "collaborating with India". That's the expertise Mushahid has developed in a government where he has had to fight the other Sharif loyalists to get to the top and remain there.