Hamza Azhar Salam

About Hamza Azhar Salam

Pakistani investigative journalist at the Stigler Center as a Journalist-in-Residence. My beat is subcontinent security, corruption and climate change. I\'ve spent the last decade reporting on Afghanistan-Pakistan border conflicts, Iran\'s proxy networks, and Pakistan\'s evolving strategic posture. I write for BBC and Haaretz and go on air for France 24 and Sky News when things escalate. Also interested in how political actors buy up media outlets to kill accountability. Open to research, consulting and advisory work. Subject of a formal joint communication by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders to the Government of Pakistan (2023) over threats linked to corruption reporting. Exclusive correspondence with the UK\'s National Crime Agency confirmed that a £190m settlement belonged to the state of Pakistan. Speaker at the Shusha Global Media Forum on AI in journalism.

Experience

1. Opinion Writer

   Haaretz

   Dec 2020 — Present

   Writing opinion for Haaretz since 2020. It is Israel\'s oldest daily and arguably its most respected. I am the only Pakistani journalist to hold a regular column in Israeli media. My work focuses on antisemitism within the Muslim world, the question of Pakistan-Israel diplomacy, and how the Abraham Accords reshuffled alliances most assumed were permanent. I wrote a major piece on how and why Iran lost the Muslim world. Not comfortable territory for a Pakistani byline, but that is exactly why it matters.

Education

• Cass Business School

  BSc Investment and Financial Risk Management

  2012 — 2015

• City St George’s, University of London

  Master's degree, Interactive Journalism

  2019 — 2020

• The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

  Journalist in Residence