Danish Siddiqui's parents plan to take on Taliban for his killing

New Delhi: Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui's parents said that they will initiate a legal procedure to bring those responsible for his killing under the Taliban leadership. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Danish was on assignment in Afghanistan when he was killed in July last year.

In a statement, Danish Siddiqui's parents Akhtar Siddiqui and Shahida Akhtar will initiate legal action to investigate his killing and bring to justice those responsible, including high-level commanders and leaders of the Taliban, the family said in a statement.

Though the statement did not say what kind of legal action would be sought, it is understood that Siddiqui's family will be moving the International Criminal Court against the Taliban.

Danish headed the multimedia team for Reuters in India, and was embedded with the Afghan forces for assignment when he was killed in July 2021.

Last year, when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic devastated India, Siddiqui had extensively covered the hospitals, graveyards and mass cremations, and was widely appreciated across the globe. Danish held a Bachelor's degree in Economics and a Masters in Mass Communication. Before his work as a photojournalist, Danish worked as a television correspondent.

Danish covered several important stories as a photojournalist in Asia, Middle East and Europe. Some of his works include covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Rohingya refugees crisis, Hong Kong protests, Nepal earthquakes, Mass Games in North Korea and living conditions of asylum seekers in Switzerland.

He has also produced a photo series on Muslim converts in England. His work has been widely published in scores of magazines, newspapers, slideshows and galleries – including National Geographic Magazine, New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Forbes, and others.

PTI inputs