MUMBAI: Indi Media-owned English news channel NewsX has appointed senior journalist Seema Mustafa as the national affairs editor and head of the national bureau.

The channel has launched a weekly interview programme, Straight Talk With Seema Mustafa.

Prior to NewsX, she was working with The Asian Age as resident editor. In her career spanning over three decades, Mustafa has worked with The Telegraph, Indian Express, The Economic Times and The Patriot. Her weekly columns have been syndicated to several newspapers including The Deccan Chronicle and The Dawn of Pakistan.

NewsX co-promoter Jehangir S Pocha said, “Seema's joining the NewsX team is another step in our re-building and strengthening the channel. Her experience and calibre will further allow us to give viewers the quality news and journalism they have come to expect from NewsX.”

Mustafa is one of the few women journalists to have reported extensively on armed conflicts. She has covered the Beirut war in 1982 between Israel and the PLO and more recently, the Lebanon-Israel war. She received "Prem Bhatia Award for Excellence in Political Reporting and Analysis" in 1999 for her coverage of the Kargil war.

“NewsX’s approach of bringing the depth and coverage of print journalism to electronic medium makes for an excellent television. It’s a vibrant and fresh news channel with a fine balance of young journalists and seasoned voices. It’ll be exciting experience working with a progressive and engaging news channel such as this,” Mustafa added.

Mustafa’s areas of interest are Kashmir, West Asia and Pakistan. She also writes on atomic energy and nuclear issues.