Senior tribal journalist dies after prolonged illness

LANDIKOTAL: Senior journalist and founder of journalism in the erstwhile Fata, Sailab Mehsud passed away on Thursday after prolonged illness, family sources said. A family member of Sailab Mehsud said the 70-year-old veteran journalist, whose real name was Rifatullah, breathed his last at a private hospital in Islamabad. He said Sailab Mehsud remained at the hospital for about five months due to his acute illness.

Sailab Mehsud was the founder of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ), which was established in 1987 to bring together all journalists working in the tribal areas and provide them a platform to voice their demands.

Sailab Mehsud had been working for several national and international media outlets, including Reuters, Al Jazeera, Mashal Radio, daily Dawn and daily Jang as correspondent for his native South Waziristan for the last four decades. He shifted his family to Dera Ismail Khan when the security situation in South Waziristan deteriorated and began working there as a leading journalist on the tribal region. Sailab Mehsud was also a columnist and writer and wrote books including “Mezz”. He was the chief editor of Karwan-e-Qabail, the only weekly newspaper in the tribal districts for several years.

According to his family, his funeral prayers would be offered in the Burki Town Jamia Masjid near Radio Pakistan Dera Ismail Khan station on Friday. The journalists in the newly merged districts and across the province have expressed their grief and sorrow over the death of Sailab Mehsud .

In separate statements, the journalists groups termed the death of Sailab Mehsud as a great loss for the journalism in the tribal districts. A number of provincial ministers, advisers and special assistants to chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also expressed their sorrow over the demise of veteran journalist and offered condolences to the bereaved family.