Danish Karokhel

Promoting human rights, calling the government and elites to account and encouraging participation in public life – these are the three pillars of Pajhwok Afghan News, the independent news agency that Danish Karokhel created ten years ago. Under his leadership, PAN’s Kabul headquarters and its eight regional bureaux produce an average of 40 dispatches a day in Pashto, Dari and English. “Reports that are accurate, timely, balanced, correctly sourced and corroborated and relevant to their public,” his article of faith says. This is a challenge in any country but, even amid Afghanistan’s chaos, Karokhel is up to the task.