Ash-har Quraishi is KCTV5's chief investigative reporter. Since joining KCTV5's award-winning investigative team in 2006, he has reported on the hidden dangers of online diaries from Internet predators, uncovered vulnerabilities in the Kansas City rail system that could be targeted by terrorists and exposed a local pastor for failing to protect children from sexual abuse inside his own church.

His explosive report on police complaint procedures was honored with a 2007 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting. That report uncovered intimidation and abuse at the Independence Police Headquarters, leading to reforms in that department's police complaint process.

Before coming to KCTV5, Quraishi served as CNN's Islamabad bureau chief, responsible for the network's coverage of Pakistan.

Quraishi reported extensively on major events in Pakistan and the region, including the Agra Summit, the ongoing conflict between nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan, the floods in Eastern India, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the religious extremist movement in Pakistan and the clashes on the line of control in the disputed region of Kashmir. He reported live from Karachi on the disappearance of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and the bombing of the Protestant International Church in Islamabad.

Quraishi was the first television correspondent to report the capture of top Al Qaeda operative and suspected 9/11 architect Khalid Shaikh Mohammad. He was live from the capital as the story unfolded and conducted a one-on-one interview with Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf following the arrest.

He was honored with a 2003 South Asian Journalists Association Award for "Pakistan Decides," for his coverage of Pakistan's first general elections since the military coup of 1999 in a five-part series leading up to polling day. In 2004, Triangle Media Group named him one of the top 50 South Asian Global Achievers in Mass Media.

Before his posting in Pakistan, Quraishi was based in Atlanta, where he worked in various capacities. He supervised production of the network's premiere news program "CNN&TIME," overseeing all aspects of production. He worked as a producer for CNN USA and was instrumental in the launch of CNN's Web-based newscast - CNN Quickcast.

Prior to working for CNN, Quraishi reported and produced for WGEM - the NBC affiliate in Quincy, Ill.

Born and raised on the northwest side of Chicago, Quraishi holds a bachelor's of science degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently Ash-har, his wife and daughter live in Johnson County.

You can e-mail Ash-har at aquraishi@kctv5.com.

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