Naval Kishore launched the paper at some point in 1858; however, its regular weekly publication began the following year, starting a fresh count with volume 1 in January 1859.

Its front cover was illustrated with a drawing of Chattar Manzil, a building in Lucknow, and Farhat Bakhsh Palace.

The paper introduced a special column entitled Maidān e Jang Kī Tāzatarīn Khabareṃ ('Latest news from the battlefield'), with maps and illustrations.

[9] Following the appointment of Pandit Ratan Nath 'Sarshar' as editor, his Urdu novel Fasana-e-Azad began to appear in the paper in August 1878.

Considered a landmark in modern Urdu fiction, the novel received unprecedented public interest and boosted the paper.

In 1859, Maulvi Hadi Ali 'Ashk', one of Naval Kishore Press's scholars and calligraphers, was appointed the paper's first formal editor.

In 1866, he was succeeded by Mehdi Husain Khan, the ex-proprietor of the Riyaz-e-Nur Press in Multan and former editor of an Urdu weekly of the same name.

[10] Following Mehdi Husain Khan, in 1867 the editorship was assumed by Maulvi Raunaq Ali, a Persian and Urdu scholar and poet who wrote under the pen names 'Afsun' and 'Raunaq'.

[12] Sarshar also published articles on literary, educational, political and social subjects in the paper, advocating progressive thoughts, enlightenment and modernity.

His novels Fasana-e-Jadid (later published in book form as Jam-e-Sarshar) and Sair-e-Kohsar were serialised as special supplements to Avadh Akhbar in 1880 and 1886 respectively.

[3] The paper appears to be Nawal Kishore's most profitable journalistic venture and received great success with Urdu readers.