ISLAMABAD: Najam Sethi, editor-in-chief of Daily Times, Friday Times and Urdu daily Aaj Kal, has been awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual prize of the World Association of Newspapers.
Mr. Sethi was chosen for his “outstanding defence and promotion of press freedom under difficult circumstances and constant personal danger,” a statement on the WAN website said, noting that his newspapers have promoted liberal and secular ideas in a country “too often torn by religious extremism.”
Earlier this year, Mr. Sethi received threats from radical Islamic groups after Aaj Kal published a cartoon about Umme Hassan, wife of Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz, who tried to escape a July 2007 military operation at the mosque dressed in a burqa.
The cartoon was about the radical education imparted by the Jamia Hafsa, which was pulled down following the operation but was attempting to set itself up again on the first anniversary of its destruction.
“All journalists are aware of the dangers of inciting extremists who violently oppose reporting that is contrary to their view of the world,” said the board of the Paris-based WAN at a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, in making the award.
‘Best traditions of journalism’“Mr. Sethi has chosen, in a region fraught with such dangers, to brave them. His commitment to providing truthful and independent coverage in this region, despite great personal danger and sacrifice, is in the best traditions of journalism. We think the award will inspire others to resist such pressure.” The award will be presented at the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum to be held in Hyderabad from 22 to 25 March next year.
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