Mr. Malik Siraj Akbar

Mr. Malik Siraj Akbar is an award-winning Pakistani journalist who has risked his life covering enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, assaults on journalists, and other human rights violations, particularly in his native Balochistan. The founding editor of the Baloch Hal, Pakistan’s first online local newspaper, he has served as the Balochistan bureau chief of the Daily Times, Pakistan’s leading English-language newspaper (2006–2010), and as a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at Arizona State University (2010–2011). A recognized regional expert, he is the author of The Redefined Dimensions of the Baloch Nationalist Movement (2011), as well as numerous articles on press freedom, human rights, religious radicalism, and the war on terror in Pakistan. During his fellowship, Mr. Akbar is conducting a study of the threats facing defenders of democracy in Pakistan, focusing on the problem of enforced disappearances, attacks on journalists, and targeted killings of political leaders and human rights activists.  

Presentations:

Threats to Defenders of Democracy in Balochistan, National Endowment for Democracy, May 2, 2012. 

Publications: 

Disappearances in Pakistan: The U.N. Mission Must Succeed, Huffington Post, September 14, 2012. 

Who Benefits from Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law?, Huffington Post, August 23, 2012. 

Are Taliban Jealous of Imran Khan? My Telegraph, August 21, 2012. 

Pakistan’s Mobile Phone Curfew, Huffington Post, August 20, 2012. 

Pakistan’s Eroding Space for Free Expression, Huffington Post, August 9, 2012. 

Spy Chief’s Visit to Washington may Undermine Pakistan’s Democratic Government’s Influence, mytelegraph, August 3, 2012. 

Security Forces, Blamed for Rights Abuses, Irk Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Huffington Post, August 2, 2012. 

Being Young and Baloch: The government’s response will decide who the young Baloch will support and join in near future, The News on Sunday, July 29, 2012.  

Why Pakistan is on the Brink, Huffington Post, June 25, 2012. 

Quetta’s Carnage Spells Trouble for Balochistan, The AfPak Channel, June 22, 2012. 

Al-Qaeda: Weak but Undefeated in Pakistan, My Telegraph, June 7, 2012. 

Shooting the Messenger: Four Reporters Murdered in Pakistan in One Month, Huffington Post, June 5, 2012.  

10 Reasons why Pakistan should apologize to U.S., Chicago Tribune, May 28, 2012. 

Threatened Pakistani Journalist Seeks Asylum in Australia, Huffington Post, May 25, 2012

Targets, not drones, draw ire from Pakistan: Weinbaum, Dawn.com, May 15, 2012. 

Pakistani Women Unite to Battle Religious Extremism, Huffington Post, April 30, 2012. 

Pakistan’s Worsening Hazara Crisis, Huffington Post, April 16, 2012. 

The Winners and Losers of the Taliban Reintegration Process, Huffington Post, April 11, 2012. 

In Pakistan, the Hazaras are Punished over Race and Religion, Huffington Post, April 6, 2012. 

Sensational Shows Imperil the Future of Pakistan’s Fledgling Broadcast Media, Huffington Post, March 14, 2012. 

Media Mentions: 

Challenges for Independent News Media in Pakistan, Center for International Media Assistance, July 30, 2012. 

Pakistan resumes NATO supplies, ends isolation, Deutsche Welle, July 4, 2012. 

Four Pakistani Journalists Murdered in a Month, Greenslade Blog, June 6, 2012.  

Balochistan: Middle Class Rebellion, Dawn.com, June 5, 2012. 

#mediamonday: Spotlight on Pakistani Journalist Malik Siraj Akbar, CIMA Media Blog, March 26, 2012.