America has expressed grief over the death of Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui while covering the war in Afghanistan.
Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui killed in Afghanistan
The Joe Biden administration and lawmakers in the US have mourned the death of Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui while covering a war between Afghan forces and Taliban militants in Afghanistan. Siddiqui, who won the Pulitzer Prize in the year 2018, used to work for Reuters news agency. He was killed on Friday in the town of Spin Boldak near the border with Pakistan. During that time he was associated with the Afghan special forces.
Jalina Porter, Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the US State Department, told reporters, “We are deeply saddened to hear that Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed while covering the fighting in Afghanistan. Siddiqui has often drawn praise for his work on the world’s most pressing and challenging news stories, he said. He used to take attention-grabbing pictures that were filled with emotion and expressed the human face that made headlines. His brilliant reporting on the Rohingya refugee crisis won him the Pulitzer Prize in 2018.
The top member of the Foreign Affairs Committee also expressed grief over the death
Jalina Porter said, “Siddiqui’s passing is a great loss not only to Reuters and his media partners, but also to the rest of the world.” Many journalists have been killed in Afghanistan so far. We call for an end to violence. A just and sustainable peace agreement is the only way forward in Afghanistan.
Senator Jim Risch, the top member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, has condoled the death of the Indian journalist. “The tragic death of Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui while covering the Taliban in Afghanistan reminds us of those journalists who took the risk to share the news,” he said. No journalist should die while doing his job.
Taliban needs to take responsibility for the safety of journalists
Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator in Washington DC, said: “The death of Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui today is a sad news. Even if the US and its allies call in the military, the journalists will continue to work in Afghanistan, which threatens their lives. Combatants need to take responsibility for the safety of journalists, as dozens of journalists have been killed in this conflict, with little or no accountability, he said.
Also read: Taliban denies role in killing of Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui, said- ‘We don’t know how he died’
.