Asim Effendi
If any Press Club in the country was really hard pressed for professional journalism and journalists, it was the ill-fated Swat Press Club in Northern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Swat has previously been in the international limelight due to its status as a tourist destination and, more recently, as a hub of militancy and military operations that badly tarnished its image.
Nevertheless, the role of the Swat Press Club and its credibility with the local population were at their lowest ebb. Most professional journalists kept away from the place, the upkeep of which is paid for by the government from taxpayers’ money, yet no ordinary person ever received relief. Most of the so-called journalists were considered touts of high-ranking government officials, whose primary job was to build their own public relations rather than serve the masses.
Amidst this despair and chaos, a son of the soil, Fayyaz Zafar, a true voice for the downtrodden, despite his own disability as a paralysis patient, took over the Press Club alone and has opened its gates to ordinary citizens to raise their issues from its platform without needing to grease anyone’s palm, a practice that was prevalent in the Swat Press Club in the past.
One can only wish the brave Fayyaz Zafar well in his efforts to serve his motherland and restore the image of the sacred profession of journalism, which has been tarnished by being in the wrong hands in the past. I urge all national and international media bodies to stand behind this lone warrior, who is fighting their war to restore the lost image of journalism.”
