Josh ‘NiteOwl‘ Shahryar is a journalist and human rights activist who covers ongoing conflicts as well as human rights issues for various media organizations. He also helps in organizing and takes part in peaceful demonstrations in support of basic human rights.

He writes on his personal blog The Daily NiteOwl infrequently, for The Huffington Post on a case by case basis and for Pajamas Media when he wants to balance things out. He previously worked as a senior editor for Afghanistan's largest newspaper, the Kabul Weekly.

He is currently working on his first book: "Through Hell or How I Managed to Survive Growing Up in Talibanland and Pakistan", which chronicles his life, the history of the two countries in the past three decades and the rise of fundamentalist Islam and terrorism.