March 17, 2020
Kabul: Liyaqat Layeq, a journalist from the daily Etilaat-e-Roz, has won the 2020 Afghanistan Journalist of the Year award in a tough competition against dozens of other national journalists.
The Afghanistan Journalists Centre (AFJC) launched the Afghanistan Journalists of the Yearaward in 2014 to recognize the professionalism of Afghan journalists and encourage them to adhere to internationally applied journalism standards in their coverage of events inside Afghanistan.
Liyaqat was deemed outstanding by the judging committee for the year under review. He received the award at the National Journalist's Day ceremony on Monday, March 17. Second Vice President Sarwar Danish, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Information and Culture Sayeda Muzhgan Mostafawi and journalists from across the industry attended the event held at Sedarat Palace in Kabul.
Journalists and media organizations across Afghanistan were invited to nominate one story per person for the competition. The competition received numerous entries from all over the country. The jury was impressed with the quality of the winning entries.
Among the 70 applicants who participated in the competition, a total of 11 competitors from television, radio, print, and online media were recognized as outstanding journalists for their hard work in producing compelling stories in 2020. Liyaqat Layeq from the daily Etilaat-Roz received the highest score from the jury for his investigative report on the expenditure of contingency code 91 of the budget by President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah. Additionally, 10 other journalists were recognized for their outstanding reports.
Highlighting the significant role that journalists play in war-torn Afghanistan, especially in the post-Taliban era, Director of the Afghanistan Journalists Center, Ahmad Quraishi, said, "Celebrating National Journalist's Day in a war-ravaged country is a significant move to recognize the efforts and dedication of reporters who put their lives at risk while covering events and reporting on matters that can affect people's lives."
At the initiative of the AFJC, March 17th was named National Journalist's Day and was celebrated in Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan to acknowledge the significant role of journalists in strengthening the free press and providing fair, impartial, and balanced information to the people—a crucial pillar in a democratic society.
Since the award's launch in 2014, two journalists from the BBC Afghanistan, including a female reporter, two reporters from the country's leading newspaper, Hasth-e-Subh, a female reporter from Ariana Television Network, and a journalist from Pajhwok Afghan News agency have won the prestigious award.
The Afghanistan Journalist of the Year award competition is open to all Afghan journalists who work inside Afghanistan with any national or international media organizations.