2022
Awaited
Country/area: Pakistan
Organisation: The News International (TNS)
Organisation size: Big
Publication date: 7/11/2021
Credit: I am only the person who did this story by myself, Zafar Ahmed Khan
Biography: Zafar Ahmed Khan is a Karachi-based journalist and researcher, and wrote for various national and international publications. He is a fellow of Gaylord Colleges of Journalism and Mass Communication at University of Oklahoma, United States. He Tweets at @Zafar_Khan5 and his email is zafarkhan.khan52@gmail.com
Project description:
My story is about the life of Pakistani and Fishermen and their families, how the families of both sides fishermen surviving as their bread earners were in Indian and Pakistani jails captured by Security agencies of both countries.
Impact reached:
My story raised the issues of both Pakistani and Indian fishermen community. How their families surviving without men and women earning bread for their kids. The right activists and peace promoter of both sides struggling for the early release of fishermen in Indian and Pakistani custody. Many of Indian prisoners were released after my story and some were captured by both security agencies during the fishing in open sea.
Techniques/technologies used:
I just use a photography camera just for the photograph and note book, laptop for the writing of my story.
What was the hardest part of this project?
The hardest part of this story is to find the families of fishermen who are languishing in in Indian jails. Karachi is the southern port city of Pakistan near the Arabian Sea. It has over a million fishermen population settled in the coastal areas. Huge population of fishermen also living in various villages along the coastal belt in Thatta, Sujawal in interior Sindh Province of Pakistan. I travelled several times to small villages and find several people and interviewed these families. An aged lady Mai Bhaggi is still awaiting her family member who are still in Indian jail Since 1999. This is a major issue of the poor fisher community of both countries. This is a cross-border story as the entire world know about the conflict situation between India and Pakistan from past 75 years including Kashmir issue and Terrorism. In many countries there is no arrest policy for the fishermen but unfortunately in India and Pakistan fishermen spent years and years in captivity.
What can others learn from this project?
The other journalists should also have to raise these human right and the issue of poor communities through writing, filiming stories to decrease the tension between India and Pakistan.
