Born in the last house of village Shamozai, Amir Khel, no one could have foreseen that the child would grow up to be the brilliant journalist, Rahimullah Yususfzai. A kind-hearted man with an exceptional work ethic, he became a role model for many.

Rahimullah Yususfzai, tall, decent, and handsome, was a man of high moral values and a towering personality. He was loved by many and looked up to by most. He earned the respect of those who worked with him.

He excelled in all aspects of his life. Honesty and devotion to family and work were the reasons for this success. From his journalistic endeavours to all the social causes he was invested in, different chapters of his life would all require separate mentions.

Progressive, accepting and always there for others, the late Yusufzai supported the downtrodden at every step of his life. A dervish-sift man unparalleled in his craft, Rahimullah Yusufzai was a life well-spent.

He was admired & respected by both adversaries and colleagues because of his polite demeanour, humility, integrity, simplicity and selfless dedication to social service. His charismatic personality was considered the essence of every gathering: family, personal, social or journalistic.

As a journalist, he remained an iconic personality of print and electronic media the world over. He started his 41-year-long journalistic career as a copyholder in an English newspaper, The Sun, Karachi. From there, a proofreader, sub-editor and finally editor of The News, Peshawar. He started his journalistic career in Karachi then transferred to Lahore. Later on, he contributed to a Medical journal in Islamabad and then moved to the NWFP, now KPK. Here he formed excellent professional and friendly relationships developed with journalists Abdul Wahid Yusufi sahib and Faiz ur Rehman sahib, which further developed and strengthened till death with each passing day.

He contributed articles in daily newspapers, weekly, fortnightly monthly English magazines regularly, and was a regular on BBC radio and almost all TV channels.

To his credit, he interviewed top Al-Qaeda leadership, including Osma Bin Laden and Mullah Umer. He would often work late at the newspaper, and on one such night he received a call from Bin Laden. The next morning he wrote an opinion piece titled, Assalam-o-Alaikum Yaa Sheikh quoting the Al-Qaeda head. This created ripples across the board.

His views on news in BBC Pashto services were widely heard and regarded as authentic information, making him a household name in Afghanistan. Before that, Mark Tally was doing this job on BBC Pashto service. He visited 60 to 70 countries on their invitation to participate in different seminars, conferences, summits & forums where he addressed and presented his papers on relevant subjects.

Rahimullah Yusufzai was a man of virtue, many capabilities, knowledge, wisdom, courage, and above all, experience. He staunchly believed in the freedom of the press, and his commitment to the profession earned him great respect in the field.

Rahimullah Yusufzai was a man of virtue, many capabilities, knowledge, wisdom, courage, and above all, experience. He staunchly believed in the freedom of the press, and his commitment to the profession earned him great respect in the field. Every news and view published with his name was a masterpiece.

I was surprised to see him for the first time back in 1989. He was compiling a story and was typing on a typewriter with one finger. His stories were like film reels. He knew the art of writing well and had a knack for capturing public interest with his stories. His writing was regarded as a truly authentic source of news.

In the PTV election cell, he was the favourite choice during the 80’s and 90’s elections. People would hear his analysis with complete attention. He was the first journalist to be awarded Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in 2004. He also received Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2009, a rare distinction for any journalist.

When Shahnawaz Tanai attempted a coup in hopes of dethroning Dr Najeebullah, failed in Afghanistan and failed, Rahimullah Yusufzai was called by the PTV Peshawar centre with the request not to tell the viewers that Tanai was in PakistanRahimullah Yusufzai told the Ptv authority that he could not mislead his viewers and tell the facts if this question was asked from him. He was an authority on Afghanistan and tribal affairs.

He was dearly missed by the viewers recently when the Taliban took over Kabul again after 20 years of war. His deteriorating health kept him away from his viewers and listeners in his last days.

He remained committed to social service all his life. During his lifetime he arranged over 99 mass marriages of orphans girls/ boys along with one lakh worth of dowry items, provided over 4000 youths employment, donated several wheelchairs for disabled persons, and other equipment to various medical and eye camps in the Abazai area. Facilitated the installation of sui-gas in21 villages, 2o km long Shahrah- e- Rahimullah Yusufzai road linking the area with Buner, secretly donated to constriction of mosques, drinking water schemes and wells, arranged furniture for local schools, school uniform for children and provided financial help to widows and orphans He intends to arrange mass marriages of 30 to 40 o orphan girls very soon, but fate had other plans. He inherited his love for helping others from his father. He was also a good sportsman, played cricket with us in unflattened barren fields in Shamozai and later led our cricket team in Kallang, then high school ground. He also patronized Yusufzai tribes traditional sport MAKHA in the Abazai area and arranged several tournaments and invited high dignitaries to these sporting events.

He followed the tenets of Islam with much religiosity. Rich tributes were paid to him on his passing from this world to his eternal abode. Alas! Rahimullah Yusufzai departed from us too early at the age of 67 years, but his good deeds will remain a source of inspiration for many to come, and in that, we find our consolation.

Your memories are our precious treasure. We will always feel proud whenever your name is mentioned, my uncle, Rahimullah Yususfzai.

The writer is PRO IGP,  KPK, and the nephew of late Rahimullah Yusufzai