Emal Pasarly is the multimedia editor for BBC.

Personal life

Emal Pasarly was born in the northern province of Kunduz, Afghanistan, to an upper-middle-class family. As a result of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, his family migrated to neighboring Pakistan. He moved to London in 1993 and began working with the BBC World Service in 1996. He is the son of a well-known Afghan poet Mohammad Seddiq Pasarly, and the brother of classic writer Asadullah Ghazanfar, journalists Esmat Sarwan, Ajmal Pasarly and Nazo Pasarly (now Nazo Essa). He married his wife Fareba in 2003 in London and has two children.

Journalism

Pasarly has been working for the BBC for almost 20 years. He has interviewed a number of well known Afghan and international politicians and opposition figures including

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from 2001 to 2013, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. His other notable interviews were with Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban movement who controlled Afghanistan from 1994 to 2001 before they were driven out by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and allied forces. Pasarly has interviewed the secretive one-eyed leader Mullah Omar three times by phone in four- or five-minute conversations that were recorded on the spot without prior arrangement. The last such conversation took place late in 2001, after US B-52 bombers had started pounding Taliban-controlled areas. Pasarly later told an Aljazeera reporter about his experience of interviewing Mullah Omar. "''The impression I was left with is that he either does not understand the nuances of issues, or that he is too smart and does not want to give clues on his inner thoughts''".

Writing

Pasarly also writes fiction in Pashto; he is the author of several books including three novels, 11 collections of short stories, a collection of plays and 6 non-fiction book about online journalism including the History of Afghan cricket. Before joining the BBC Pasarly was the editor of a monthly magazine called DEWA, for Pashto literature in London.

References

External links

BBC Blog.

Asian Cricket council Afghan literature site which has Emal's bio

Emal Pasarly speaks at London's Frontline Club,2013

Aljazeera quotes Pasarly on Mullah Omar

British Afghan women society mentions Emal Pasarly’s experience on Bilingualism

* ttps://news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-blocks-youtube-controversial-video-sparks-violence-102540212.html Emal Pasarly on Afghanistan YouTube ban
Pasarly on Mullah Omar

Pasarly discuses Afghan corruption case

Pasarly talks about Honour killing in Afghanistan

Journalist profile
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/19/afghanistan-cricket-world-cup-guide-game-plan-key-player-and-prediction {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasarly, Emal 1974 births Living people Afghan journalists Afghan television journalists Afghan television presenters BBC newsreaders and journalists Afghan emigrants to England Afghan expatriates in Pakistan People from Kunduz Province