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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | ‘Are they after him because he writes in Urdu?’-Seema Chishti

‘Are they after him because he writes in Urdu?’-Seema Chishti

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published Published on Mar 9, 2012   modified Modified on Mar 9, 2012

There is surprise and disquiet in the Urdu journalistic fraternity over the arrest of Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi for his alleged role in the attack on the Israeli diplomat.

From a village on the Ghaziabad-Meerut border, Kazmi had a variety of journalistic assignments that included a weekly column and the morning news bulletin on DD Urdu. Since 2002, he also helped as a volunteer teacher of English to underprivileged Class XII students at the India Islamic Cultural Centre.

Said journalist Saeed Naqvi, who has known Kazmi since 2002 and who worked with him on a DD pilot show: “He has a long and consistent record as an Urdu journalist... he is open about his views. He is Shia, he knew Persian and Arabic and was invaluable for our show then. Are they after him because he is from the Urdu world?”

Kazmi, years ago, served as an intern in UNI Urdu, a wire service for Urdu papers and periodicals. Its former head Sheikh Manzoor said: “Kazmi has a long record as a journalist and was in Syria with all of us. His views on the situation in the Middle-East were always openly expressed. Is there suspicion only because he writes for the Urdu press? What about freedom of expression?”

Editor of Urdu daily Sahafat, Hasan Shuja, who has known Kazmi for more than a decade, said, “I know him well and I am disturbed by these reports. Calling him a terrorist is so irresponsible. About eight days ago, he appeared on a TV show and made a forceful case against the US and backed Iran. I think he has been on the radar ever since. The pressure on the police by Israel to catch someone finally resulted in them picking him up.” Kazmi, his friends and associates said, also worked for the Iranian News Agency IRNA in 1982.

He writes weekly “guest columns” in leading Urdu dailies. In the latest one, entitled Shaam ke khilaaf jang namumkin (It is impossible to attack Syria), Kazmi discussed his recent trip to Syria with other journalists in February and said he “was in Iraq when, in 2002, Saddam Hussain said a referendum backed him, and had exaggerated figures, but Assad actually has mass support”.

In a column on March 2, Kazmi spoke of how “Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya are showing footage of so-called disturbed areas in Syria but people are calling up those channels and saying they are okay in those parts.”

The Indian Express, 8 March, 2012, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/are-they-after-him-because-he-writes-in-urdu/921416/


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