Janullah Hashimzada
Encyclopedia
Janullah Hashimzada (جان الله هاشم زاده) was an Afghan journalist and bureau chief in Peshawar
, Pakistan
for the Afghanistan
Shamshad TV
channel. He was an outspoken critic of the Taliban.
where he was a familiar face, and Pajhwok Afghan News
, Hashimzada was also a freelance journalist to international media organizations, including the BBC
, supplying frontline footage from the dangerous militant
and insurgency
areas of Pakistan
. He spoke Arabic, Urdu, English, Pashto and Dari and interviewed several Taliban, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin
and Al Qaeda commanders and criticized their policies in his reports.
to Pakistan
by bus, Hashimzada was assassinated in the Khyber Pass
, the mountain pass that connects Pakistan
and Afghanistan
near Jamrud
in the Khyber
tribal area. The bus on which he was riding was intercepted by militants (presumably Taliban) riding in a Toyota Corolla who used the car to cut the bus off and stop it. The militants then entered the bus and shot only Hashimzada dead, then fled. His body was taken to a hospital in Jamrud.
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
for the Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
Shamshad TV
Shamshad TV
Shamshad TV is a satellite television station in Afghanistan, which was launched in early 2006. The channel broadcasts 18 hours a day, providing educational, news, shows, dramas, and entertaining programs to both local areas of Afghanistan as well as other countries via satellite.Shamshad TV...
channel. He was an outspoken critic of the Taliban.
Career
In addition to his work for Shamshad TVShamshad TV
Shamshad TV is a satellite television station in Afghanistan, which was launched in early 2006. The channel broadcasts 18 hours a day, providing educational, news, shows, dramas, and entertaining programs to both local areas of Afghanistan as well as other countries via satellite.Shamshad TV...
where he was a familiar face, and Pajhwok Afghan News
Pajhwok Afghan News
Pajhwok Afghan News is a news agency established in March 2004 in Kabul, Afghanistan by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. It is Afghanistan's largest independent news service, providing broad-based coverage of news in English, Pashto and Dari...
, Hashimzada was also a freelance journalist to international media organizations, including the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, supplying frontline footage from the dangerous militant
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
and insurgency
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
areas of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He spoke Arabic, Urdu, English, Pashto and Dari and interviewed several Taliban, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin
Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin
The Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin is an Afghan islamist political party.The original Hezb-e-Islami was founded in 1977 by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar who is now the head of HIG. The other faction is headed by Mulavi Younas Khalis who split with Hekmatyar and established his own Hezbi Islami in 1979...
and Al Qaeda commanders and criticized their policies in his reports.
Death
On Monday August 24, 2009, while returning from AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
by bus, Hashimzada was assassinated in the Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
, the mountain pass that connects Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
near Jamrud
Jamrud
Jamrud , is a town located in the Khyber Agency, one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The town is the doorway to the Khyber pass, part of the Hindu Kush range...
in the Khyber
Khyber
The term Khyber may refer to:*The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan*The Khyber Pass, a mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan.*The Khyber Agency, part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
tribal area. The bus on which he was riding was intercepted by militants (presumably Taliban) riding in a Toyota Corolla who used the car to cut the bus off and stop it. The militants then entered the bus and shot only Hashimzada dead, then fled. His body was taken to a hospital in Jamrud.