My elder brother was a photographer at a local newspaper. When I was young it was normal to accompany him on his assignments. On one occasion, he was sent to cover a local politician speaking at Peshawar University. During the event there was a huge explosion and people were running and crying for help, covered in blood.
I saw him busy shooting pictures, along with other photographers. I thought what a risky job my brother was doing, having the courage to stay and attend to their duties while people were running for their life. It was at that point I decided to become a photographer.
I learned photography while working at a studio in 1988, then as a photographer for a local newspaper.
Assignments about militants are those that interest me most.
My first assignment for Reuters was in 2004 when I was assigned to cover Pakistani paramilitary force operations against militants in Wana, South Waziristan. I documented militants after the paramilitary force detained them. I also photographed Internally displaced people who had left their homes and everything behind because of the militants. This taught me the importance of reporting both sides of a story.
The assignment that left the biggest mark on me was back in 2013. I was covering an explosion in a Christian church. While shooting pictures I saw from a distance the rising arm of a boy who was lying in a pool of blood. It seemed to me that he was raising his arm to ask for help. Just when I had that thought his arm fell. I was shocked and in panic about what to do as I saw he had died right in front of me. I still remember that moment very clearly.
