Rahimullah Yusufzai (رحیم اللہ یوسُفزئی) (10 September 1954 – 9 September 2021) was a Pakistani

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, political and security analyst, best known for having interviewed Osama bin Laden, and Afghan Taliban leader

Mullah Omar Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), 1996 to 2001. Born into a religious family of ...

. He was also a war correspondent.

Early life and education

Yusufzai was born on 10 September 1954, in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in Shamozai village of

Mardan District Mardan District ( ps, مردان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Mardan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The district is named after Mardan city, which is also the headquarters of the district. The district is famo ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

. He received his early education at his village primary school and then in public schools in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

and

Jhelum Jhelum (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for pr ...

. Rahimullah also studied at the

D.J. Sindh College Dayaram Jethamal Sindh Government Science College, ( sd, ) commonly known as DJ Science College, is a public community college that is affiliated with the University of Karachi — it is located near Burns Road in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Pre ...

and the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whic ...

Career

Yusufzai was among the first journalists to report on the Taliban and visited

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...

, Afghanistan in 1995. He was one of the few bona fide experts on Afghanistan, having reported on the country since the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In 2016, he also frequently appeared on

Geo News Geo News is a Rank Number 1 Pakistani news channel owned by the Jang Media Group. History The Geo Television Network started out with the launch of its flagship channel Geo TV in October 2002 but has since launched several other channels whic ...

TV channel as a news analyst.Profile of Rahimullah Yusufzai on BBC News website
Published 6 February 2014, Retrieved 26 November 2021 He was the editor of the Jang Group's ''The News International'' at the Peshawar Bureau and was an op-ed writer for the monthly Newsline. Rahimullah is especially noted for holding the last interview with Osama bin Laden. He also served as a correspondent in Pakistan for ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' magazine. Rahimullah was also a correspondent of BBC's

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languag ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

services in

province of Pakistan.

Awards and recognition

Yusufzai was considered an authority on Afghan affairs and on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. Acknowledging his achievements in journalism, the government of Pakistan first awarded him the

Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

(Medal of Excellence) in 2005. Then he received

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

Award (Star of Excellence) from the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Katlang Katlang ( ps, کاټلنګ , ) is a tehsil in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is located approximately 19 kilometers north of Mardan. The population of Katlang was 343,144 in 2017. Katlang topaz It is estimated that the ...

and laid to rest on 10 September 2021. Prime Minister

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

, Chief of Army Staff General

Qamar Javed Bajwa General Qamar Javed Bajwa ( ur, ; born 11 November 1960) is a retired Pakistani army general who served as the tenth Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018 he was ranked 68th in the ''Forbes' ...

, Awami National Party leader

Asfandyar Wali Khan Asfandyar Wali Khan (Urdu and Pashto: اسفندیار ولی خان) (born 19 February 1949) is a Pakistani Pashtun politician who is the president of the Awami National Party (ANP). His father, Abdul Wali Khan, was the party's first presi ...

, Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Federal Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain,

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) is a trade union federation of journalists in Pakistan. PFUJ is affiliated with the International Federation of Journalists. History The constitution of the PFUJ was first adopted in Karachi in A ...

and others offered condolences upon his death.

References

External links

Sharif tells committee to initiate talks with Taliban
Zee News India website

Rediff.com website, Published 3 April 2010
Face to face with Osama
The Guardian (newspaper), Published 25 September 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yusufzai, Rahimullah 1954 births 2021 deaths Pashtun people Pakistani male journalists People from Mardan District Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz University of Karachi alumni People from Peshawar Pakistani television journalists Pakistani war correspondents D. J. Sindh Government Science College alumni BBC people