In a presentation held on 24th June at TI Pakistan office, FK exchange fellow and TI Pakistan Project Coordinator Asif Shakeel discussed investigative journalism training, TI Nepal outreach program and ALAC Nepal programme. He told the staff about investigative journalism and how it can contribute in exposing corruption. He also shared the key factors behind success of TI Nepal outreach program.

In the last part of presentation, Asif discussed TI Nepal’s strategy for Advocacy & Legal Advice Center (ALAC). Staff appreciated his presentation and said that they would like to have more sessions with separate presentations on each of the discussed topics.

A series of seminars on ‘Investigative journalism in Pakistan’ were also organized by Transparency International Pakistan in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur, first of which was held on 25th June 2010 at Hyderabad Press Club. The event took off at 3:15 P.M. with recitation from Holy Quran by senior local journalist Shahid Sheikh. President Hyderabad Press Club Mahesh Kumar in his welcome speech appreciated TI Pakistan’s initiative on investigative journalism. His speech was followed by a presentation by TI Pakistan Project Coordinator Asif Shakeel who discussed need for training of journalists in investigative journalism, challenges and scope of investigative journalism in Pakistan.

Senior journalist and BBC correspondent for Hyderabad Mr. Ali Hasan and General Secretary of Hyderabad Press Club Mr. Hameed ur Rahman also spoke at the seminar and said that the presence of journalists in big number is a proof that Hyderabad based journalists are willing to learn but there is a strong need to cooperate with them. The seminar by TI Pakistan was attended by more than 70 journalists and was widely covered by the local media.

Next programme was held at Sukkur Press Club on June 26, 2010. It began at 1:30 P.M with recitation from Holy Quran by Mr. Rizwan. President Sukkur Press Club Lala Asad Pathan welcomed TI Pakistan to Sukkur and said that investigative reporting is the real journalism because it exposes looters of national resources.

TI Pakistan Project Coordinator Asif Shakeel then discussed misunderstandings regarding investigative journalism, need for the training, skills required, challenges and scope of investigative journalism in his presentation. President Sukkur Union of Journalists Jan Muhammad Mahar and Secretary General of Sukkur Press Club Liaquat Laghari while expressing their viewpoint said that investigative journalism demands dedication and commitment from a journalist but working environment discourage new entrants from venturing into investigative journalism. Seminar was given a wide coverage by local media and it was attended by around 50 journalists.

Last seminar was held at Hotel Marriott Karachi on 28th June 2010. The seminar started with recitation from Holy Quran by Syed Saleem Ahmed. Group Editor daily Jang Mr. Mehmud Shaam was the Chief Guest. Mr. Shaam in his speech said that unfortunately investigative journalism has never come up in Pakistan in its real form. He said that any news item targeting specific officeholder can’t be called an objective report.

Earlier Chairman Transparency International Pakistan Mr. Adil Gilani in his welcome speech said that the biggest hindrance in investigative journalism is the non implementation of right of access to information. Project Coordinator of TI Pakistan Asif Shakeel in his presentation discussed misunderstandings regarding investigative journalism (IJ), challenges and scope of IJ in Pakistan.

Senior journalists Yusuf Khan, Shaheen Salahuddin, Dr. Tauseef Ahmed and Shamim ur Rehman also spoke at the event and appreciated TI Pakistan’s plan to promote investigative journalism in the country. Former speaker National Asembly and board member, TI Pakistan Mr. Illahi Bakhsh Soomro wrapped up the event with his remarks that a journalist’s prime responsibility is to inform people and he should take it above all. A brief Q&A session was also held at the end and participants asked different questions regarding the topic to speakers.