Hamza Azhar Salam

Co-Founder

Chicago, Illinois, United States5 yrs 11 mos experience

Key Highlights

Investigated high-profile corruption cases in Pakistan.
Regular contributor to major international news outlets.
Recognized as a Human Rights Defender by UN Special Rapporteurs.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Media and Investigative Journalism expert with a focus on South Asian political dynamics.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Investigative ReportingPublic Speaking

Other Skills

Financial Crimes InvestigationsWritingVideo ProductionFiction WritingArticle WritingOnline JournalismJournalismNews WritingBloggingData JournalismFinancial RiskVideo Editing

About

Pakistani investigative journalist at the Stigler Center as a Journalist-in-Residence. My beat is subcontinent security and corruption. 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

Freelance

On-Air Analyst

Aug 2021 – Present · 4 yrs 8 mos · Worldwide

Regular on-air analyst across international and Pakistani broadcast networks including Sky News, France 24, CNN News18, Aaj Tak, RT, Dawn News, Samaa TV, Anewz, and others. Most appearances deal with subcontinent security, Pakistan's political crises, and regional escalations as they happen. Editors tend to call when they need someone who actually understands the civil-military dynamics behind a story, not just the breaking news ticker. I work across English, Urdu, and Hindi language programming.

Investigative Reporting

Haaretz

Opinion Writer

Dec 2020 – Present · 5 yrs 4 mos

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.

The pakistan daily

Founder

Nov 2020 – Present · 5 yrs 5 mos · Greater London

The Pakistan Daily was founded as an independent investigative outlet focused on corruption, security dynamics, and political economy. The publication required maintaining working relationships with Pakistan's Information Ministry and ISPR while keeping editorial independence intact. Served as direct liaison with military and security sources during active conflicts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Government relations across both civilian and military institutions were central to the role; access matters, but so does accountability. The Malik Riaz and Bahria Town investigation took years of work across corporate registries, legal filings, and Gulf deal structures, all under sustained legal pressure. Declared a Human Rights Defender by UN Special Rapporteurs for this work.

Public SpeakingInvestigative Reporting

The news international / geo news

News Reporter

Dec 2019 – Nov 2020 · 11 mos · London Area, United Kingdom

Geo News is Pakistan's largest private TV network. I was their man in London. The beat covered UK-Pakistan political relations, diaspora politics, Kashmir, and British parliamentary developments. Also covered UK's Covid-era policies affecting the Pakistani community, extradition cases, and the British-Pakistani business and cultural scene. The role meant working across time zones and newsroom cultures, filing for both English and Urdu language audiences.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/writer/hamza-azhar-salam
https://www.geo.tv/writer/hamza-azhar-salam

Pa media

Elections Result Taker

Dec 2019 – Mar 2020 · 3 mos · London, United Kingdom

Part of the UK General Elections Pointers Team and Result Takers Team.

City, university of london

2 roles

Student Ambassador

Oct 2019 – Jul 2020 · 9 mos · London, United Kingdom

Events Marshall. Campus tours. Accommodation Tours. Advising potential students. Social Media Takeovers.

MA Interactive Journalism Student

Sep 2019 – Jun 2020 · 9 mos · London, United Kingdom

News Reporting. Data Journalism. Social and Community Management. Political Headlines. Media Ethics. UK Media Law. Coding for Journalists. Journalism Portfolio.