PESHAWAR: The 5th Lala Amir Ahmad Siddiqui Media Awards were given away to the local journalists of national print and electronic media organisations at the Peshawar Press Club here on Friday.

The award ceremony was attended by media persons and members of award jury. The winners of awards received shields and cash prizes of Rs30,000 each.

Mamaraha Afridi of Tribal News Network (website) won the best tribal journalist award for 2020. Riffat Anjum of Aap News received the best female journalist award, Izharullah of Independent Urdu (website) the best Urdu story/feature award, Islam Gul of the Peshawar Today website the best picture award and Sajmal Yooddon of Aap News the best TV reporter award for 2020.

Similarly, Arshad Yousafzai of The News International received the best English story category award.

The competition involved work of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s journalists from Jan 1, 2019, to Dec 31, 2019. The process of reviewing entries to the competition got delayed due mainly to the COVID-19 related public health measures and repeated lockdowns in different parts of the province.

The competition, named after veteran journalist of Peshawar Amir Ahmad Siddiqui (late), is being held as a joint endeavour on the part of his family and a group of senior journalists from Peshawar.

The judges’ committee comprised Faizullah Jan, chairman of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department, University of Peshawar; Shabina Ayaz, director of the Aurat Foundation, Peshawar, and Abdullah Jan, former president of the Khyber Union of Journalists.

Senior journalist Rahimullah Yousafzai (late) headed the judges committee since the competition was launched six years ago The speakers paid rich tribute to veteran journalist Rahimullah Yousafzai and said the vacuum created by his death could never be filled.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2021