Journalist Danish Siddiqui's family to take legal action against Taliban

Slain photojournalist Danish Siddiqui's parents have said that they will initiate legal action for an investigation into their son’s killing and to bring to book those responsible, including high-level commanders and leaders of the Taliban. Siddiqui, 38, was on assignment in Afghanistan when he was killed in July last year. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist was covering clashes between Afghan troops and the Taliban in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city.

On Tuesday, March 22, 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.