Released on bail after being arrested for his alleged role in the 2012 bomb attack on an Israel embassy vehicle that left a diplomat with serious injuries,journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmed Kazmi has resumed his career as the editor of Urdu newspaper Qaumi Salamati (national security). The newspaper,first brought out in 2007,was relaunched on Wednesday after transfer of ownership,with Kazmi as its editor. The function was attended by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who unveiled the newspaper and its website. Other guests and speakers included Lok Janshakti Party leaders Ram Vilas Paswan and Abdul Khalique,NCP general secretary D P Tripathi,National Commission for Minorities chairperson Wajahat Habibullah and Shia cleric Kalbe Jawad. Addressing the gathering,speakers lamented the decline of Urdu and its newspapers and the irresponsible coverage of innocent Muslims arrested in terror cases. Dikshit,who did not speak of terror reportage,recalled how Urdu was the first language of Delhi,and is now being left behind in the citys cultural revolution. I am honoured to be inaugurating the paper. This is a historic occasion, she said. For Kazmi,its a new start. He spent seven months behind bars for his alleged involvement with Iranian radicals in planting a bomb on an Israeli diplomats car in February 2012. He was released on bail last October by the Supreme Court,subject to surrender of passport,reporting to police station every fortnight,and not leaving the city without the permission of the court. The 53-year-old was a freelance journalist for 30 years before his arrest,contributing to Iranian media organisations,Doordarshan and Urdu newspapers. But Kazmi does not want to freelance anymore. I wanted to do something bigger,and reach more people. This,he hopes to realise through Qaumi Salamati,which is circulated in Delhi and in towns up to 200 km around it. Besides offering a national,not Muslim,perspective on issues and events,we will be doing in-depth stories of people who have been wrongly arrested in terror cases, he said . Since Urdu newspapers have little reach,the newspapers website will put out English translations of the stories,and upload videos. Kazmi is also helping people get in touch with his lawyer Mehmood Prachas firm for legal assistance in various cases free of charge.
