Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was not simply killed in a crossfire in Afghanistan. He was also not collateral damage but was “brutally murdered” by the Taliban.
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Taliban executes journalists while covering clashes
According to a report published in an American-based magazine, Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was not simply killed in a crossfire in Afghanistan, nor was he simply collateral damage, but was “brutally murdered” by the Taliban after verifying his identity.
38-year-old journalist Siddiqui was on an assignment in Afghanistan when he died. He was killed while covering clashes between Afghan troops and the Taliban in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city.
Taliban’s hunt down on Siddiqui and traveling Afghan troops
According to the Washington Examiner report, Siddiqui traveled with an Afghan National Army team to the Spin Boldak region to cover fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban to control the lucrative border crossing with Pakistan.
When they got to within one-third of a mile of the customs post, a Taliban attack split the team, with the commander and a few men separated from Siddiqui, who remained with three other Afghan troops. Shrapnel hit Siddiqui during this assault, so he and his team went to a local mosque to receive first-aid.
Afterward, words spread that a journalist was in the mosque when the Taliban attacked the mosque only because of his presence.
No respect for the rules of war or conventions that govern the global community
Micheal Rubin, who is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute writes, “ While a widely circulated public photograph shows Siddiqui’s face recognizable, I reviewed other photographs and a video of Siddiqui’s body provided to me by a source in the Indian government that show the Taliban beat Siddiqui around the head and then riddled his body with bullets.”
Furthermore, the Taliban’s decision to hunt down, execute Siddiqui, and then mutilate his corpse shows that they do not respect the rules of war or conventions that govern the behavior of the global community, according to reports.
Paying respects to the journalist for the last time
Siddiqui was laid to rest at the Jamia Millia Islamia graveyard where a sea of mourners gathered to pay their respects.
Lastly, his body arrived at the Delhi airport on the evening of July 18 and was later brought to his residence in Jamia Nagar where a huge crowd, including his family and friends, had gathered.
