Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Saturday confirmed the martyrdom of seasoned journalist Syed Ansar Ali Naqvi – Senior Director Current Affairs and Programming at 24NewsHD.

During a visit to his residence in Karachi, the governor informed his wife MPA Begum Rana Ansar about the sad demise, saying there were only two survivors of the PIA plane crash and there was no hope of any other person staying alive.

He offered his condolences to the bereaved family and promised full cooperation at every possible level.

Earlier, Governor Imran along with Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar and other PTI lawmakers and leaders arrived at his home.

Naqvi was going to his native city Hyderabad for spending the Eid holidays with family. His wife Begum Rana was present at the airport to receive him when she received the news about the plane crash.

He had initially decided to travel to Hyderabad by road as his seat wasn’t being confirmed but later boarded the plane after confirmation.

Naqvi passed the matriculation exam in 1983 and that of inter in 1985. He started his career by joining a local Urdu newspaper Safeer and later served as the Hyderabad bureau chief for The News from February 1, 1990 to May 1, 2002.

In April 2002, he joined Geo News and remained associated with the TV channel as controller news till December 26, 2014.

While Naqvi joined BOL News for a short period, he decided to associate with City42 as executive director news on July 1, 2015.

Later, he assumed the charge of director current affairs and programming at 24NewsHD after July 19, 2017.

In December last year, he performed Umrah with other staff members of the TV channel.

His daughter is associated with a private channel’s programming department in Karachi, while Begum Rana was elected as Sindh Assembly member on a seat reserved for women on MQM ticket.

Commenting on the irreparable loss, 24NewsHD Director News Mian Tahir Mehmood said Naqvi had a progressive thinking and always had a smile on his face. He was like family member who always looked after his friends, he added.

Senior analyst Nasim Zehra said Naqvi told him that he will leave on Friday as he had not visited his family for the last several months.

It is like some family member has left you, she remarked and said Naqvi was always there in case of any problem.

Nasim said he used to talk to everyone in the same manner whether a junior or ordinary person or the prime minister.

Senior political analyst Salim Bokhari said there were very few comprehensive professional persons like Naqvi, adding that he was short for words to describe his feelings over the tragedy.

Iftikhar Ahmed said he knew Naqvi since 2002 who was a thorough professional with friendly approach and developed his career through sheer hard work.

They worked together in several projects and his behaviour towards others was remarkable, he noted, adding that he was a master of developing a team and extracting work from the juniors.

24NewsHD Editor-in-Chief Naveed Chaudhry said Naqvi had a refined personality and obtained the status only because of professionalism.

Mazhar Abbas of Geo News said he never saw Naqvi compromising on his profession. He joined journalism at a time when the law and order situation in Karachi and Hyderabad was very poor, but his reporting was unmatched despite all the odds.