Zaffar Abbas is the Editor of Dawn, Pakistan’s oldest and most prestigious English language newspaper. This is his 37th year in journalism. During this period he has worked for several news organisations, including 16 years for the BBC World as one of its Pakistan correspondents. Mr. Abbas is a keen follower of both the Pakistani and regional politics, and has covered the civil war in Afghanistan from the days of the Soviet occupation. The last few years have been mostly dedicated to reporting and analysing the rise of religious extremism and terrorism in Pakistan, and South Asia, the tricky peace process between India and Pakistan, as well as the complicated political developments in the country. Because of his bold and objective coverage of armed militancy in the country he twice faced the wrath of different ethnic and religious militant groups in the past, but luckily survived with non-fatal injuries. He continues to receive death threats by various militant organisations, but so far it has not affected his journalism. As Dawn’s editor he has continued to maintain a robust position on the issue of freedom of the press, and the newspaper is recognised by almost everyone in the country as the real champion for the cause. Mr. Abbas is a strong advocate of ethical journalism, and has remained involved in various initiatives within and outside Pakistan. He has also been closely involved in the campaign to end the culture of impunity in violence against journalists. Two years back, he was elected as the first Chairman of ‘Editors for Safety’, a new initiative by the editors of independent newspapers and televisions in Pakistan to coordinate coverage of incidents of attacks on journalists and media houses, and pressure the government for bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. Until April this year, he was member of the board of the World Editors Forum (WEF). He is also on the board of editors of the Asia News Network or ANN, a mainly content-sharing grouping of 23 Asian newspapers from as many countries.  

* Zaffar Abbas is an IPI member.