

Asma Shirazi is a senior Pakistani journalist who has received awards for her bravery and work. She is a political commentator and the host of an Aaj News primetime current affairs program.
Asma Shirazi was born in Islamabad in 1972 and studied political science at Punjab University. She began her career as a radio presenter for Radio Pakistan before moving to Geo News in 2001. She became Pakistan’s first female war journalist in 2006, reporting from the 2006 Lebanon War and later from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in 2009. Asma is a member of The Coalition for Women in Journalism.
Asma Shirazi’s remarkable journalism career began in 2000 with PTV, then in 2001 she joined Geo News where she developed her skills as a reporter and anchor. Her path brought her to ARY News in 2007, where she hosted a current affairs programme. In July 2010 she eventually joined SAMAA TV. She won the award for “Best Current Affairs Anchor” for her work with Dawn News as the host of “Faisla Aap Ka.” She continued to host ‘Faisla Awam Ka’ for Dawn News in 2014 before switching to ‘Faisla Aap Ka’ at Aaj News.
Asma’s career goes beyond the studio, as she has covered the front lines of numerous crises, such as the Israel-Lebanon conflict in 2006, the violence caused by the Taliban along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in 2009, and the state of emergency imposed in Pakistan by General Pervez Musharraf in 2007. She also covered the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.
Asma Shirazi has received several awards and recognitions for her outstanding work in journalism. Some of the notable awards and honours she has received include:
On October 23, 2014, Asma Shirazi became the first journalist from Pakistan to receive the prestigious Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism. The honour is presented yearly to a single journalist who has shown a strong dedication to fair reporting and defending press liberties. According to Delphine Halgand, the Director of Reporters Without Borders, the award “pays tribute to the courage of those who fight for freedom of information in Pakistan, where seven journalists were murdered in connection with their work in 2013.”
She was also honoured for her significant contribution by AFP. “AFP is happy to be associated with this recognition of Asma Shirazi’s great courage and perseverance in reporting on conflict and politics in Pakistan despite the personal dangers she faced,” said David Millikin, AFP’s North American regional director.
Although little is known about her family, it is obvious that they have contributed significantly to her success by giving her the foundation and support she needed to pursue a career in journalism. This deliberate privacy has allowed Asma to concentrate on her professional goals while maintaining the boundaries she considers necessary in her personal life.