Veteran British journalist Robert Fisk dies at 74

Veteran British journalist Robert Fisk has died at the age of 74, The Guardian reported late on Sunday.

Fisk was admitted to St Vincent’s hospital in Dublin on Friday after suffering a suspected stroke and died shortly afterwards, according to a report on the BBC.

Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar expressed sadness on the journalist’s death. “A fearless journalist who understood the Middle East better than almost any other Western journalist and wrote the truth with clarity and without fear,” he said.

Renowned historian William Dalrymple said the late journalist was “fearless” and his book Pity the Nation was “extraordinary”.

Fisk started his career at the Sunday Express before moving to The Times, working as their correspondent in Belfast during the Northern Ireland conflict.

In 1976, Fisk became the Middle East correspondent for the paper, covering the Lebanese civil war, the Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq war and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

He switched to The Independent in 1989 where he continued to work until his death. The paper said “Fisk was renowned for his courage in questioning official narratives from governments and publishing what he uncovered in frequently brilliant prose.”

The paper’s managing director said: “Fearless, uncompromising, determined and utterly committed to uncovering the truth and reality at all costs, Robert Fisk was the greatest journalist of his generation. The fire he lit at The Independent will burn on.”

Fisk spoke Arabic fluently and interviewed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden twice, according to the publication.

He was also the author of several books on Northern Ireland and the Middle East, including Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War and The Great War for Civilisation.

Fisk won various awards, including the Orwell Prize for Journalism, Amnesty Award and multiple wins at the British Press Awards in the categories of international reporter of the year and foreign reporter of the year.

The New York Times in an article in 2005 said Fisk was “probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain”.

Fisk went on to take Irish citizenship, according to The Independent.

Ireland President Michael D Higgins said “with [Fisk’s] passing the world of journalism and informed commentary on the Middle East has lost one of its finest commentators.”