THE latest from the World Newspaper Association Congress in India:
HYDERBAD: A TRUE hero of the newspaper industry has just been honoured with the Golden Pen for championing of press freedoms.
Najeem Sethi, jailed three times in three decade and now guarded by eight commandos because of death threats from the Taliban, received the Golden Pen this morning.
Until recently, Mr Sethi was the editor-in-chief of the Friday Times and Daily Times in Pakistan.
He’s had to stop that role to protect himself and his family.
He said this morning that he regularly gets letters with the severed heads of so-called Western agents, threatening that this would happen to him if he did not stop his campaign for a secular, liberal society in Pakistan.
He is one of four editors on a Taliban death list. The other three have fled the country. Mr Sethi won’t be bowed.
He said he hoped the award would encourage peace in south Asia, and that the media of India and Pakistan would stop their nationalistic stances and encourage governments of both countries to work together.