According to Arshad Yusufzai, son of Rahimullah Yusuzfai, the veteran journalist and analyst passed away on Thursday (9th September) after a long battle with Cancer.
Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Peshawar-based journalist was considered an expert on issues related to the tribal districts and Afghanistan. He has covered the situation in Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion in 1979, and he has interviewed both Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban founder Mullah Omar.
In addition, he served as the resident editor of The News (Peshawar) and worked in Time magazine and the BBC. The veteran journalist, for his hard work, was awarded:
- Tamgha-I-Imtiaz in 2005.
- Sitara-I-Imtiaz in 2010.
The late journalist’s funeral will be placed at 11 a.m. on Friday in his native village of Inzargai in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan district.
Many politicians along with Imran Khan tweeted and gave their condolences to the family of Rahimullah. Prime Minister Imran Khan said Rahimullah was, “one of Pakistan’s most well-respected journalists.”
Shehbaz Sharif, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly said that the death of Rahimullah has left a “huge void in the field of journalism.” The president of the PML-N party also said that, “he was of the most credible voices on the politics of the region, particularly Afghanistan & war on terror.”
Member of the National Assembly, Mohsin Dawar also tweeted and said, “Will remember him for his professionalism, his decency, his dedication to his work and his mild-mannered demeanor.”
Farhatullah Babar, a former senator also paid tribute to Yusufzai on Twitter and wrote that he was an “accomplished journalist, a keen researcher, a perceptive observer of Afghan scene and above all a great human being.”
Barbara Plett Usher, BBC correspondent also tweeted and said that Rahimullah was a “generous colleague and a journalist of great knowledge, wisdom, integrity.”
According to Nagendar Sharma, he was the “most credible name to have reported on allied forces Afghanistan capture in 2001 following 9/11 attacks.”
