MINGORA: The local journalists paid tributes to their fallen colleague Sirajud Din on his 10th death anniversary here on Wednesday.

Sirajud Din, the reporter of an English daily, was killed in a suicide attack on the funeral prayers of DSP Javed Iqbal on February 29, 2008. He was the first journalist, who was killed in the Swat’s conflict.

A ceremony was organised at Swat Press Club to remember to Sirajud Din and pay homage to him. The local journalists, elders, and elders of the deceased addressed the ceremony.

His son Haroon Siraj said that he was proud of his father’s services. “My father used media only for highlighting the problems and issues of people,” he said. He complained that the PPP government in the centre and ANP in the province at that time had announced compensation and government jobs for them but the promoses were not materialised.

Sirajud Din was born in 1955 at Master Muzzafar Hussain’s home in Mingora.

He passed his matriculation examination from Government Wadudia High School Saidu Sharif and did his masters in English from Peshawar University in 1973.

He started his career in journalism in 1983 with Daily Wahdat and also used to write for several national dailies including Daily Pakistan, Daily The Muslim and Frontier Post. He also worked for PTV in 1994.

He was elected twice the vice-chairman and vice-president of Swat Press Club and Swat Union of Journalists respectively. He was one of the founders of Swat Press Club. He remained associated with the field of journalism for more than two decades.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2018