NBC Pakistan journalist honored for frontline reporting
Posted: Thursday, May 08, 2008 12:22 PM
Filed Under:
Islamabad, Pakistan
By Carol Grisanti, NBC News Producer
NBC News Mushtaq Yusufzai is the first recipient of the Agence France Press Kate Webb Award which was set up to honor one of the news agency’s top foreign correspondents who died in 2007.
Yusufzai, 32, won the prize for his in-depth reporting and analysis on the complex situation in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
His daily reports for "The News," one of Pakistan’s leading English language daily newspapers and his blogs for msnbc.com were cited as exceptional work in dangerous and difficult circumstances.
 |
| NBC News |
| Faqir Mohammed, left, speaks with NBC News Mushtaq Yusufzai, center, at his remote mountain top stronghold near the Pakistan/ Afghanistan border while Faqir's bodyguards stand by in rear. |
In pursuit of the story, Yusufzai has been wounded by the Taliban, caught in cross-fire between Taliban militants and Pakistan’s security forces, dodged U.S. predator drone attacks, and was arrested and harassed by Pakistan’s intelligence agents – all while on assignment for NBC News.
In addition to the honor of the prize, Yusufzai was awarded $8,000 so he can pursue an opportunity to work on a story that he otherwise may not be able to afford to.
A native Pashtun, from the Northwest Frontier Province, he intends to use the funds to trace the movement of people from Western countries into the tribal areas who then go on to fight U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. "I want to find out who finances these people," he said.
Read some of Yusufzai' award-winning reports from the field for NBC News' World Blog: Face to face with a Taliban commander
Taliban Mullah talks
How two teens were recruited for jihad
In tribal Pakistan, a shave may cost your life
One-way ticket Pakistan to Afghanistan, $4 please
Pakistan and U.S. - still best of friends?
