Umar Cheema is an investigative reporter for the Pakistani newspaper The News. He writes on corruption, politics, national security and unaccountable intelligence agencies, bold work that has resulted in him being abducted and abused. Cheema's unwillingness to stay silent about the ill treatment he has suffered has drawn wide attention to the nationwide issue of anti-press violence in Pakistan. 

 

For his brave journalism and willingness to publicly speak about the attack at risk of his own life, the Committee to Protect Journalists awarded Cheema its 2011 International Press Freedom Award as an annual recognition of courageous journalism. On April 14, 2011, Cheema received the 2011 Tully Center Free Speech Award of Syracuse University. In 2008, he won a Daniel Pearl Fellowship, becoming the first Pearl fellow to work at The New York Times. Cheema earned a master's degree in science in comparative politics (conflict studies) from the London School of Economics.