My compatriots would be proud to know that Umar Cheema, one of the leading investigative journalists who was kidnapped, tortured by unknown thugs, has received the Martha Gellhorn prize for journalism in UK. John Pilger, the daring journalist, moviemaker, and war correspondent, was one of the judges to select the deserving candidates for the award.
In his opening address, Pilger highlighted Umar Cheema’s daring act by quoting the lines Cheema wrote in one of his reports: “An officer convicted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of financial and economic crimes for 14 years has been appointed head of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Economic Crime Wing (ECW) by the PPP government after his crime record was concealed during the promotion process [because] he is a friend of President Asif Ali Zardari.”
Authoring such a report in a country like ours was indeed a courageous act, the panel of judges concluded. Umar Cheema, who couldn’t make it to UK to receive the prize in person because the high commission wasn’t able to process his visa application in time, received 2000 pounds as Martha Gellhorn prize. Well done, Umar. Keep up the good work.
Dr A P SANGDIL
Oslo, Norway
