WASHINGTON: A Pakistani journalist honoured for courageous reporting spoke out on Thursday against “brutality” against reporters in her country as she expressed hope for greater freedom for the news media.

Asma Shirazi, Pakistan’s first female war correspondent and host of popular TV talk shows, made the comments as she accepted the 2014 Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism.

Ms Shirazi (now associated with DawnNews TV channel) said she was encouraged by the recognition but noted that the country remained one of the most dangerous in the world for news reporters, with 99 journalists killed in the line of duty since 2000.

Journalists in Pakistan “are working in an environment where they could be killed anytime,” she told the award ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington.

“I dedicate this award to the unsung heroes of journalism in Pakistan who sacrificed their lives for the cause of their profession.”

She said this included many working in remote areas who “are endangering their lives on every spur of the moment”.

The situation is one of “extreme gravity”, she said, noting that reporters had been beheaded, tortured and killed in suicide bombings.

“Despite these dangers and difficulties, Pakistani journalists continue unabated with the task at hand, to give voice to the voiceless, to speak truth to power and to tell everybody the everyday story of our life,” she said.

Pamela Constable, the Washington Post journalist who introduced Ms Shirazi, praised the recipient for her dedication.

The award, named for the late AFP journalist Peter Mackler, is administered by Global Media Forum in partnership with AFP and Reporters Without Borders.

Ms Shirazi is the sixth recipient of the award, and the first from Pakistan.

Last year’s winner was Sudanese journalist Faisal Mohammed Salih.

Published in Dawn, October 25th , 2014