JournalismPakistan.com
October 20, 2019

ISLAMABAD —  Abbas Nasir, a former editor of Dawn, revealed in his column on Sunday that Cyril Almeida had parted ways with the paper.

“I feel burdened with sadness but wish him the best as he explores new, exciting frontiers,” he wrote.

In September Almeida had made a comeback to the editorial pages of Dawn, after almost eight months.

Nasir was all praise for Almeida. “The confident young man, a Rhodes Scholar who read law at Oxford, was introduced to me by a colleague when I was editor. I remember asking him that while he wished to be a print journalist was he aware of what print journalists make? He smiled and said I was overestimating what lawyers make in Pakistan.”

Nasir wrote that Almeida was so gifted and worked at such speed that he became an editor’s, any editor’s dream.”

He hoped that Almeida returns to Dawn one day as editor.

Later, Almeida announced on Twitter that he had quit Dawn and ended his Sunday column. He said a break from the media was likely.

Some more work news, belatedly: I have resigned from Dawn and ended the Sunday column. Am deeply grateful for the readership and affection over the years. There is no plan to return to writing in the foreseeable future, a break from the media appears to be on the cards. 🙏

— cyril almeida (@cyalm) October 20, 2019

Dawn’s current Editor, Zaffar Abbas in a tweet, said that he was extremely  saddned to see Cyril go. “He was one of the brightest stars of Dawn, & Pak journalism, and one of the most honest & bold writers I have worked with. He’ll be greatly missed.”

Extremely saddened to see Cyril go. He was one of the brightest stars of Dawn, & Pak journalism, and one of the most honest & bold writers I have worked with. He’ll be greatly missed. I wish him good luck, and hope one day he will return to journalism and Dawn. https://t.co/yGhjiaDZkw

— Zaffar Abbas (@abbasz55) October 20, 2019

Almeida was involved in controversies that led to court cases against him. In October 2016, his story on the meeting of National Security Committee caused an uproar. Although the then PMLN government rejected the story, the authorities briefly put his name on the exit control list.

In May 2018, Almedia’s interview of Nawaz Sharif led to a treason case against him and Zaffar Abbas, editor of Dawn.

Sharif maintained that the militant organizations were active in Pakistan and asked: “should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?”

In April 2019, Almeida, an assistant editor at Dawn, got the International Press Institute's 2019 World Press Freedom Hero award.

Photo courtesy: IPI

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