Reuters Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui Killed in a Crossfire in Afghanistan Reuters chief photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on Friday while covering clashes between Afghan security forces and the Taliban in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province, near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. The Indian fearless & courageous journalist was covering the situation in Kandahar over the last few days.  On 13th July, he updated on his twitter account about the tension increasing in the air with the expectectation of Taliban’s attack.

Key Highlights about Danish Siddiqui

• Afghanistan is suffering from the Taliban’s atrocities in Kandahar.
• Chief photographer Danish Siddiqui was killed in a clash.
• Danish Siddiqui’s father appealed to expedite and to bring his body back as soon as possible.
• Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s President expressed deep sadness at the killing of Danish Siddiqui.
• Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla condemned the killing of Danish Siddiqui.
• Rahul Gandhi showed his condolences to the family and friends of Danish Siddiqui.
• Rahul Gandhi appealed to GOI to bring his mortal remains back home. 

Reuters’ Statement About Danish Siddiqui

Reuters said Siddiqui had been embedded as a journalist earlier this week with Afghan Special Forces based out of Kandahar and “had been reporting on fighting between Afghan commandos and Taliban fighters”.

Earlier Friday, Siddiqui had told Reuters that he had been wounded in the arm by shrapnel but had been treated and that the Taliban fighters had initially retreated from Spin Boldak.

Reuters President Michael Freidenberg and Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni, in a statement, said: “We are urgently seeking more information, working with authorities in the region. Danish was an outstanding journalist, a devoted husband and father, and a much-loved colleague. Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time.”

Biography of Danish Siddiqui 

Danish Siddiqui was 40 and was born in 1980. He graduated in Economics from Jamia Millia Islamia University where his father taught at the Faculty of Education before he retired. An Economics graduate from the JMI, he enrolled for a postgraduate course at the AJK Mass Communication and Research Centre (MCRC) in 2005.

He started his career as a television news correspondent but soon joined international news agency Reuters in 2010 as an intern. Later, he became the Chief photographer of the Reuter agency. He was an award winning photojournalist who won the Putlizer prize in 2018 for Feature Photography for documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Siddiqui also covered the war in Iraq, the Nepal earthquake, protests in Hong Kong, the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka. At home, Siddiqui’s photographs were seminal works, from capturing the Delhi riots to the most recent images highlighting the gravity of the second Covid-19 wave.

In his Reuters profile, Siddiqui said of himself: “While I enjoy covering news stories from business to politics to sports, what I enjoy most is capturing the human face of a breaking story. I shoot for the common man who wants to see and feel a story from a place where he can’t be present himself.”

Danish Siddiqui’s Last Account on July 13 

He documented an extraction mission of the ASF while the Humvee he was travelling in was under attack. He captured the photograph of a young civilian caught in the middle of the conflict.

Also Read: World Press Freedom Day 2021: Journo’s Life Safety Is Guaranteed By Sat-Bhakti

“I could feel the tension in the air as ASF were expecting an imminent attack from the Taliban. There was sporadic machine gun fire but all hell broke loose as the Humvees reached the extraction point. Rocket propelled grenades (RPG) and other heavy weapons were used by the Taliban against the convoy resulting in the destruction of 3 Humvees.”

Condolences by Various Personalities

• Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said he was deeply saddened that Mr Siddiqui was killed while covering the Taliban attacks in Kandahar.
• He further mentioned that the path of Dharma or righteous conduct must be a refuge to the persecuted people over the centuries.
• “The Secretary General grieves for the journalists killed or indeed harassed anywhere in the world and the case of Danish Siddiqui is one such case,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing on Friday.
• Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of  Srinagar said in a tweet that it is tragic that Danish is killed by the Talibani while doing his job.
• Mamta Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal expressed her condolences saying that the demise of Danish Siddiqui is a tragic loss. His photographs were emblematic of the upheavals that the country witnessed in the past few years.

Why Are There Clashes, Wars, and Tension Everywhere?

In every corner of the world people are suffering from inequality, divisiveness and hostility. There have become so many religions at present that due to which, everywhere there are wars. The greed to rule the world is at its peak. 

Only Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj can establish peace Worldwide as He is the incarnation of Kabir Sahib ji. He gives the true devotion mentioned in our Scriptures. His devotees do not follow any religion except Humanity. Sant Rampal ji believes that 

“Our race is living being, Mankind is our Religion || Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, There is no separate Religion ||”

What Is the Aim of Human Life?

The main aim of human life is to attain Salvation (Moksha) which people neglect thinking that they should enjoy their life. Instead, in ignorance, they follow man-made practices which are against our scriptures. Only by taking birth as human and succeeding in it, one can get rid of 84 lakh births. It is clear from these lines as follows:- 

Aatm praan uddhaar hi, Aisa dharm nahi aur |

Koti ashvmegh yagya, Sakal samaana bhaur ||

These lines make it clear that if the self-welfare of one soul is brought about by engaging her/him on the path of true bhakti, then one gets the fruit of crore Ashwamegh yagyas and there is no meritorious act (Dharm) equivalent to that. No task is superior to a task, means a service, done for the salvation of a soul.

How Is Salvation Attained?

Salvation can only be attained by doing True Devotion. Above all, it should be taken from an Authorised Saint. At present, He is none other than Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj. He is the incarnation of Supreme Power Kabir Sahib Ji who created the entire Universe within 6 days. He (Sant Rampal Ji) is creating an evil free society. Under His influence, the possibilities of establishing a Golden era seems to have come true where no one would lose his life at such a young age. Though, it is requested to everyone that please do not waste his/her precious time and life and should take refuge in Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj to pursue the main aim of life.