From Declan Walsh’s expulsion to Elian Peltier’s Islamabad bureau, the people behind New York Times Pakistan coverage have shaped how the world understands the country. Meet the correspondents and revisit the stories that mattered most.
Quick answer: New York Times Pakistan coverage is led by bureau chief Elian Peltier (Islamabad, since January 2026). Before him: Declan Walsh (2012–2013, expelled), contributor Salman Masood, and Afghanistan/Pakistan chief Christina Goldbaum. Landmark stories include the Abbottabad raid, the APS massacre, the 2022 superfloods, the May 2025 confrontation and the April 2026 Islamabad talks.
In this guide
Elian Peltier: The Current Bureau Chief
Appointed in January 2026, French journalist Elian Peltier is the Times’ bureau chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, based in Islamabad — the paper’s first correspondent based in Pakistan since 2013. He came from the West Africa beat, where he reported on jihadism, the Wagner Group’s abuses and civilian suffering in Sudan and DR Congo. Before taking the bureau job he had already covered Afghan expulsions from Pakistan and the country’s floods. His first historic story: the April 2026 US-Iran talks in Islamabad, the highest-level meeting between the two countries since 1979.
Declan Walsh: The Expelled Bureau Chief
Irish journalist Declan Walsh became Pakistan bureau chief in January 2012 after years covering the country for The Guardian. In May 2013, on the eve of general elections, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry cancelled his visa over “undesirable activities” and gave him 72 hours to leave. The Times protested; the order stood. Walsh kept covering Pakistan from London, published “The Nine Lives of Pakistan: Dispatches from a Precarious State” in 2020, moved to Cairo and then Nairobi as chief Africa correspondent — and won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for the paper’s Sudan war coverage.
The Supporting Cast
Salman Masood has been the paper’s longtime Islamabad-based contributor, covering politics, the military and elections through the gap years. Christina Goldbaum, as Afghanistan/Pakistan bureau chief, helped open the Islamabad bureau and brought a documentary-maker’s eye (Livingston Award, 2018). On major stories the bureau draws reinforcements — diplomats’ correspondents, South Asia reporters and photographers. Learn how to follow their work.
Landmark Stories
The coverage that defined eras: the 2011 Abbottabad raid and its fallout; the 2014 APS Peshawar massacre (132 children killed) and the National Action Plan; Imran Khan’s rise and fall (2018–2022); the 2022 superfloods that submerged a third of the country; the May 2025 India confrontation — covered live from both capitals; and the April 2026 Islamabad talks. Each is summarised in our complete NYT Pakistan guide; the rivalry’s coverage gets its own deep dive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the current NYT bureau chief in Pakistan?
Elian Peltier, appointed January 2026, based in Islamabad, covering Pakistan and Afghanistan — the first resident correspondent since 2013.
What happened to Declan Walsh in Pakistan?
Pakistan expelled him in May 2013, cancelling his visa over “undesirable activities” on the eve of elections. He later wrote “The Nine Lives of Pakistan” and won the 2025 Pulitzer for Sudan coverage.
Who is Salman Masood?
The New York Times’ longtime Islamabad-based contributor, covering Pakistani politics, the military and elections for the paper through the bureau-gap years.
