Afghan media gets special citation by Pulitzer board for ‘courageous work’

The Pulitzer Prize Board on Friday announced a special citation for journalists, reporters, interpreters, and other media-related staff in Afghanistan who risked their life and facilitated the production and publishing of news stories and images that reported ground conditions in the war-torn country. 

“The Pulitzer Prize Board has issued a special citation to honor the women and men of Afghanistan who have dedicated themselves at great personal risk to create and support journalism that has chronicled decades of life and war,” read the press release by the board.

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The citation includes staff, freelance journalists and news writers,  correspondents, interpreters, drivers, news show hosts, and Afghan citizens who helped journalists with information to produce Pulitzer-winning and Pulitzer-worthy images and news stories that led the world to understand the tragic and complicated situations in the highly disputed terrain.

To honour the courageous work of these media personnel, a $100,000 emergency relief grant has also been awarded to help men and women involved in journalism in Afghanistan either resettle or to continue their work safely.

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The grant will be administered by the not-for-profit Committee to Protect Journalists.

Journalists, media staff, and Afghan residents who have worked for foreign forces fall on the high-risk group after the Taliban coup last week.

Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist was recently killed in Afghanistan while covering the face-off between Afghan forces and the Taliban near the Pakistan border. This was before the Taliban took control of the country.

The Pulitzer citation comes a day after already chaotic Kabul was hit by twin explosions that took place near the Hamid Karzai International airport. The bombings killed more than 169 including 13 US Army soldiers. 

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Militant group Islamic State has taken responsibility for the attack.

The United States that has vowed to “make the IS pay” for killing its troop, has launched a drone strike in Nangahar targeting an ISIS-K member believed to be involved in planning attacks against the US in Kabul on Saturday.

Last week, Afghanistan was taken over by the terrorist group Taliban, who formed an interim government to assume control of the internal matters following President Ashraf Ghani’s resignation.