PESHAWAR: The Amir Ahmad Siddiqui Media Awards 2016 were given to journalists here Thursday at a largely attended ceremony.
The awards aimed at promoting ethical and competitive journalism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).The awards have been named after the late Amir Ahmad Siddiqui, a founding member of the Peshawar Press Club and Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) and widely known social figure of Peshawar.
Literati, senior and young journalists working for the print, electronic and broadcast media turned up at the function arranged at the Zubair Mir Hall of the Peshawar Press Club. A number of people from different walks of life including politicians attended the event.
Senior Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Election, Inayatullah Khan, and seasoned politician Afrasiab Khattak, were among the guests at the ceremony. Vice-Chancellor of Air University Islamabad, Air Vice Marshal (R) Faez Amir and Intikhab Amir, sons of Amir Ahmad Siddiqui, were also present on the occasion.
Journalists were awarded in seven categories for the second edition of the Amir Ahmad Siddiqui Media Awards, which were launched last year. The awards were finalised by a five-member judges’ committee headed by senior journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai. Other members were journalists Ismail Khan and Abdullah Jan, Dr Altafullah who is former chairman of Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Peshawar and Shabina Ayaz, Resident Director, Aurat Foundation.
Manzoor Ali of daily Dawn won the award for the best investigative story in English, Hidayat Khan of Express Tribune for the best feature/column in English, and Ihtishamul Haq Toru from daily Jang for best feature in Urdu. Other winners were Zeeshan Liaqat of INP news agency for best photograph, Gohar Wazir of Chinar Radio for best radio package and Aftab Ahmed and cameraman Siddiq Bangash from Geo TV for best television package.
Khyber Union of Journalists was given the lifetime achievement award for its contribution toward the welfare of journalists and its struggle for freedom of the press. Saiful Islam Saifi, president of the union received the award.
The winning journalists were given cash prize of Rs,25,000 each. Afrasiab Khattak, Inayatullah, Rahimullah Yusufzai, Ismail Khan and Abdullah Jan briefly spoke after giving away the awards to the winners. Air Vice Marshal (r) Faez Amir thanked the guests, paid tributes to the judges for their hard work, and congratulated the winners of the awards.
The interesting insignia on the trophy of a combination of crescent and a pen symbolic of journalism in Pakistan specially designed by a Toronto-based artist Meredith Woddling caught the attention of the audience at the event.
Amir Ahmad Siddiqui, one of the founding members and general secretary of Peshawar Press Club, was correspondent of pre-partition Zamindar newspaper. Called Lala by young and old lovingly, he later took over his father’s news agency that was established in 1922.