On a winter morning in Lahore in the late 1990s, crime reporter Jamil Chishti walked into his office to do his routine work. Instead, he found a confession letter from Javed Iqbal, the man who would later confess to killing 100 children. The encounter, documented only in Chishti’s notes and memory, set off a chain of reporting that uncovered one of Pakistan’s most chilling criminal cases.
In Pakistan’s relentless news cycle, the people who chase the truth often disappear behind the headlines. It is this hidden side of journalism that Reporter Diaries, a new collaboration between TCM (The Centrum Media) and DW Urdu, brings to the forefront. It brought 7 journalists to the front who unveiled the country’s biggest crime through their stories full of risks.
One of the most chilling stories was of journalist Akbar Notezai, who went undercover as an illegal immigrant to expose human smuggling. His reporting also led him to uncover the Balochistan University blackmail scandal, which exposed university officials allegedly using footage from secretly installed CCTV cameras to blackmail and sexually harass female students.
Another journalist, Maimoon Saeed, revisits some of Pakistan’s most emotionally charged cases: the honor killing of Qandeel Baloch, the assassination of lawyer Rashid Rehman, and the Aasia Bibi blasphemy case. Her reflections reveal how crime reporting becomes deeply personal when stories involve honor, religion, and systemic injustice.
Another chilling story was of Nadia Saboohi, who recounts the day she reported on the lynching of Mashal Khan, a case that left journalists navigating crowds, mobs, and misinformation. She also covered her work on the potential prisoner exchange involving Dr. Shakeel Afridi and Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, and her documentation of the struggles faced by KP’s transgender community.
One of the most inspiring stories was shared by senior journalist Owais Tohid, who has reported from Karachi, Lahore, and Kabul. He reflects on moments that shaped Pakistan’s political memory: Nawaz Sharif’s sentencing in the PIA hijacking case, cases of minority persecution under the first Taliban regime, and his interview with Mukhtaran Mai, whose gang rape was ordered by a jirga.
Reporter Diaries also reflected on the crimes happening in the middle of the capital city. Stories by journalist Munawer Azeem exposed police mishandling in the Farishta rape and murder case, and his reporting included a diplomatic crisis surrounding a U.K. national accused of killing a taxi driver. He also recalls breaking the story of Naseeruddin Haqqani’s assassination, which unfolded under layers of political sensitivity.
The series closes with senior journalist Haroon Rashid, who describes covering the IC-814 hijacking in Kandahar and interviewing some of Pakistan’s most-wanted militants, including Baitullah Mehsud.
Across seven episodes, Reporter Diaries is a story not of the crimes themselves, but of the journalists who risked their lives to bring them to the public, who often go without recognition or protection.