Safi began his career as a reporter for NNI (News Network International) in Mardan after finishing his education. He ascended through the ranks to become the Bureau Chief of NNI in Peshawar. As Bureau Chief, he was in charge of all of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, and Afghanistan. He began writing columns for major newspapers. From 2000 to 2008, Saleem’s columns in the Daily Mashriq, Daily Aaj, and Daily Pakistan were lauded for their in-depth analysis of a developing situation in the pre-and post- 9/11 scenario. He has written over a thousand columns in which he discusses Pakistani politics, foreign policy, Afghanistan, and socio-religious concerns.

Safi published the book Afghanistan: The Role of the United States, the Taliban, and Pakistan Religious Parties in 2004. Following the media boom in Pakistan, Saleem also began in electronic media. From 2002 to 2004, he presented his own prime-time Pashto talkshow, Jirga, on PTV Peshawar. Due to popular demand, he resumed hosting “Saleem Safi Kay Saath” in Urdu from Islamabad in 2005, which he hosted until 2008. He also hosted a talk show called Siyasat on the Pashto language TV channel Khyber from 2007 to 2008.

He joined Jang Media Group and Geo TV as an anchor, reporter, and analyst at the end of 2008. He hosts a show with the name Jirga, and writes in the News and Jang with the same name.  Saleem’s talk shows and documentaries are extensively broadcast around the country. He has interviewed several national and international leaders and stakeholders in the region, including Nawaz Sharif, Pervez Musharraf, Asif Ali Zardari, Hamid Karzai, Fazal-ur-Rehman, Gulbadin Hikmatyar, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdullah Abdullah, and others. He has hosted current affairs shows on PTV News and the Pashto-language AVT Khyber, and he currently hosts the GEO News TV talk show Jirga.