RMNP presents its Sadiq Press Freedom Cash Awards to Iftikhar Alvi and Ghaznafar Sial posthumously
RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Awards were sponsored by Crown Prince Bahawal Abbas Khan Abbasi
Rural Media Network Pakistan presented its RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Cash Awards to Samasata based Correspondent Iftikhar Ahmed Alvi and Liaquatpur’s journalist Ghaznafar Ahmed Sial posthumously as a recognition of their services which they rendered in the defence of press freedom and promotion of freedom expression. RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Cash Awards ceremony was held on the eve of World Press Freedom Day Roundtable on 3rd May in Punjab college AhmedpurEast. It was chaired by RMNP President Ehsan Ahmed Sehar while incumbent government allied party senior leader, retired bureaucrat & journalist Hafiz Hussein Ahmed Madni was the chief guest. It was attended by one dozen press clubs presidents ,Journalists unions leaders, academics, regional leaders of mainstream political parties and press freedom advocates. This year RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Awards were sponsored by Crown Prince of former Princely Bahawalpur State Bahawal Abbas Khan Abbasi.
According to the decision of the RMNP Jury ,”RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Award” was presented to late Liaquatpur based TV & Print journalist Ghaznafar Ahmed Sial posthumously who was press freedom champion in feudal dominated Liaquatpur Sub-division of district Rahimyarkhan. Late Ghaznafar Ahmed Sial during his life received constant threats from influential landlords for his bold critical reporting. He twice elected as President Press Club Liaquatpur and four times as President Liaquatpur Union Journalists . Late Ghaznafar Ahmed Sial constituted first RMNP Press Freedom Monitoring Committee in Liaquatpur in 2010, and acted as Coordinator -Journalists Safety training workshop Liaquatpur in 2011.Similarly Patron-in-Chief Samasata Press Club Iftikhar Ahmed Alvi received RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Cash Award Category C .He is seasoned journalist who constituted Press Freedom Monitoring Committee in religious dominated area in 2013 .He was Coordinator of RMNP-UNESCO Basic Journalism Training workshop in 2013 and RMNP-DCMF Journalists Safety Training Workshop in 2018.Due to his personal efforts 38 female contributors attended above mentioned training sessions and they joined RMNP. Female induction from Samasata was a big achievement. Rural societies in Pakistan are highly segregated and in the grip of religious powers. There is glaring absence of female journalists in rural Pakistan. Men cannot report about women’s issues due to cultural barriers: they cannot approach and talk with women freely. So the almost none-existence of women journalists means that the media does not cover a large segment of rural life. Women’s’ perspective is missing in the news coverage. There is an urgent need to expose human rights violations against women in local and national media. These 38 female beneficiaries became helpful with rural women in their respective villages and some of them became citizen journalists. They write about women’s issues, which in the past have been left uncovered by men.
The RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Award was founded in 2005 and aims to recognise the courage and commitment of journalists and media organisations and to focus national and international attention towards the state of media freedom in Pakistan. For more information visit https://ruralmedianetworkpk.org/
HameedullahKhan Aziz, Shabbir Ahmed Qureshi and Ashfaq Sandha receiving Best working Journalist Award 2025,Journalists Friend Award and Best Performance Award from Principal Government Sadiq Abbas Graduate College Professor Shahid Hussain Mughal.
Daily Nawa-I-AhmedpurSharqia also presented its “Journalists Friend Award” to Chairman Executive Committee Ahmedpur Union of Journalists AhmedpurEast (AUJ) Shabbir Ahmed Qureshi , Best Performance Award to old newspaper staffer Ashfaq Sandha and “Best Working Journalist Award 2025 “to Editor Monthly Tafheem-ul-Islam Hameed-ullah-Khan Aziz. These three journalists received their shields from Guest of Honour Principal Government sadiq Abbas Graduate College Dera Nawab Sahib Professor Shahid Hussein Mughal.For more information visit https://dailynaps.com.pk/
Source: RMNP
