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General Zia‑ul‑Haq
President of Pakistan
Late 1980s
PTV NEWS ARCHIVE · EST. 1980
Syed Javaid
Hasnain Kazmi
Senior Cameraman & Controller, Camera Crew
Pakistan Television Corporation
For forty years, one camera followed the story of a nation. From 1980 to 2020, he stood behind the lens for PTV News, filming twelve presidents and prime ministers, covering conflict across three regions, and closing a career that began under General Zia-ul-Haq as Controller of Camera Crew for PTV News nationwide.
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40Years of Service
12Presidents & PMs
05Conflicts Covered
01Tamgha-i-Imtiaz
The Short Version
A career spent where history was being made
Syed Javaid Hasnain Kazmi joined Pakistan Television Corporation in 1980 and spent the next four decades as a news cameraman, filming the country's most consequential moments from behind the viewfinder rather than in front of it. He was the official cameraman for a succession of presidents and prime ministers, travelled with Pakistani delegations to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and covered international conflict from Afghanistan to Kosovo to Kargil.
He closed his career in 2020 as Controller of Camera Crew for PTV News across Pakistan, and was awarded the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan for his services to broadcast journalism.
The Journey
Forty Years, Twelve Administrations
A chronological record of the presidents, prime ministers and senior officials Syed Javaid Hasnain Kazmi served as official cameraman for PTV News, from his start in 1980 to his retirement as Controller of Camera Crew in 2020.
1978–1988
General Zia‑ul‑Haq
President of Pakistan
Kazmi's earliest years at PTV News were spent as part of the camera team covering President Zia's administration, the period in which he built his craft as a state broadcast cameraman.
1985–1988
Muhammad Khan Junejo
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Continued coverage of the federal government through the Junejo premiership.
1988–1996
Benazir Bhutto
Prime Minister of Pakistan · two terms
Official coverage across both of Benazir Bhutto's terms as Prime Minister.
1988–1993
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
President of Pakistan
Presidential coverage through a period of frequent political transition.
1990s–2010s
Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister of Pakistan · three terms
Coverage spanning three separate premierships, from the early 1990s through to the mid 2010s.
1993–1997
Farooq Leghari
President of Pakistan
Presidential coverage through the mid 1990s.
1999–2008
Pervez Musharraf
President of Pakistan
Nearly a decade of coverage through the Musharraf administration, a period that included the Kargil conflict and the aftermath of September 11.
2002–2004
Zafarullah Khan Jamali
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Continued federal coverage as Controller-level responsibilities began to grow.
2004–2007
Shaukat Aziz
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Official coverage through the Shaukat Aziz premiership.
2008–2012
Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Federal coverage continued through the Gilani government.
2008–2013
Senator Rehman Malik
Federal Minister for Interior
Coverage of the Ministry of Interior during a period of significant domestic security challenges.
2012–2013
Raja Pervez Ashraf
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Continued official coverage through to the end of the government's term.
2013–2018
Mamnoon Hussain
President of Pakistan
Presidential coverage through the parliamentary term, including sessions at Parliament House.
1997–2018
Shehbaz Sharif
Chief Minister of Punjab · later Prime Minister of Pakistan
Coverage beginning with Shehbaz Sharif's early tenure as Punjab's Chief Minister, well before his later terms as Prime Minister.
2022–2024
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs
Coverage extending into the final chapter of a forty year career.
2020 · Career Capstone
Controller, Camera Crew · PTV News, Pakistan
Kazmi closed his forty year career at the top of his profession, overseeing camera crew operations for PTV News across the entire country. That same period of service earned him the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan's civil honours. Read more on the Recognition page →
Encounters
The Faces Behind the Camera
Forty years with a press badge opens doors most people never see through. A selection from Kazmi's personal archive of the leaders, statesmen and icons who crossed his lens.
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Nelson Mandela
President of South Africa
Official visit
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Margaret Thatcher
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Islamabad
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Muhammad Ali
World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
1980s
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Imran Khan
Captain, Pakistan Cricket Team
After the 1987 Cricket World Cup
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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Shahenshah‑e‑Qawwali
1990s
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Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
Nuclear Scientist
Archive print
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Mamnoon Hussain
President of Pakistan
Circa 2013 to 2015
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General Raheel Sharif
Chief of Army Staff
Pakistan Day, 23 March 2015
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Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Circa 2013 to 2015
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Shehbaz Sharif
Chief Minister of Punjab
1990s
Global Coverage
Filming From the Front Line
Beyond the presidency and the parliament, Kazmi's career carried him into conflict zones and diplomatic summits across three regions, filing footage from the ground for PTV News.
Dispatch
United Nations, New York
Kazmi travelled with Pakistani delegations to New York on repeated occasions to cover sessions of the UN General Assembly, part of the diplomatic reporting that ran alongside his domestic political coverage.
Dispatch
Kabul, Afghanistan
Early in his career, Kazmi covered the Afghan War during the period of Soviet occupation, one of the defining conflicts of the decade in the region.
Dispatch
Kosovo
Coverage of the Kosovo War placed Kazmi's camera in one of the most closely watched European conflicts of the late 1990s.
Dispatch
Kargil, Kashmir
Kazmi covered the Kargil conflict along with recurring assignments filming Pakistan–India tensions at the Line of Control over the years that followed.
Dispatch
Lebanon & Northern Israel
The 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel took Kazmi's coverage into the Middle East, extending his conflict reporting to a third region.
Dispatch
Aboard USS Carl Vinson
A rarer assignment placed Kazmi on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson, filming among F/A‑18 fighter jets and the carrier's crew during operations in the Arabian Sea.
Dispatch
New York, USA
A quieter frame from the same New York assignments that carried him to the United Nations, taken on Liberty Island against the Statue of Liberty.
Recognition
Forty Years, Formally Recorded
The closing chapter of a career spent documenting the state, marked by the state's own recognition.
Tamgha‑i‑Imtiaz
Civil Award
Tamgha-i-Imtiaz
Syed Javaid Hasnain Kazmi was awarded the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, the Medal of Excellence, by the President of Pakistan in recognition of his services to broadcast journalism, listed in the Art (Cameraman) category among that year's civil honours.
The award sits alongside four decades of continuous service to the state broadcaster, a rare combination of longevity and recognition in Pakistani television news.
Career Capstone · 2020
Controller, Camera Crew, PTV News
Kazmi's career concluded at the top of the profession he joined in 1980: overseeing camera crew operations for PTV News across all of Pakistan. Forty years after he first picked up a state broadcast camera, he stepped back having filmed twelve presidents and prime ministers, covered conflict on three continents, and helped shape how a generation of Pakistanis saw their own history unfold.
Documentary Work
A growing archive of documentaries and long-form footage from across his career.
Gallery
From the Archive
Further prints from Kazmi's personal collection, spanning newsroom life, political rallies and moments off the clock.
PTV News camera crew
On assignment, political rally coverage · 1990s
Parliament House, Islamabad
A family milestone
New York, USA
Convocation day
Aboard USS Carl Vinson, Arabian Sea