JournalismPakistan.com | Published March 12, 2017 | Riaz Mengal
Join our WhatsApp channel
QUETTA – Since 2008, killers of more than 40 journalists in Balochistan have neither been arrested nor their families were given any justice or relief.
According to international media watchdogs and human rights organizations, the province is the most dangerous for journalists.
Amnesty International declared Balochistan's second biggest city Khuzdar as the graveyard of journalists where eight media persons have been killed.
Several media persons got injured in bomb blasts and targeted attacks in the last eight years. Many others were threatened with murder and other consequences; that forced them to quit journalism for good.
The situation also forced many to leave their homes and ancestral places and move to other parts of the country. Journalists from Quetta, Mustung, Khuzdar, Kalat, Turbat, Hub, Jaho, Awaran, Gwadar, and other areas have left along with their families.
The eight media persons killed in Khuzdar since 2008 are: Mohammad Khan Sasoli, Munir Shakir, Ijaz Mengal, Abdul Haq Baloch, Faizuddin Sasoli, Haji Waseem Ahmed Qureshi, Siraj Ahmed Garganari and Manzoor Ahmed Garganari.
Khuzdar Press Club, called the club of martyrs, has been closed down a number of times because of security fears.
Threats and kidnappings are part of the lives of journalists in Khuzdar. Riaz Mengal was threatened over publication of a news item in 2007. When he refused to retract the news, he was kidnapped a few days later.
He remained in the custody of kidnappers for 56 days during which he was tortured. He eventually escaped from his abductors’ custody. He was the first journalist of Balochistan to be kidnapped. His kidnapping started a never-ending period of injustice for the province’s journalists.
In Kalat, two journalists – Mehmood Afridi and Mohammad Jan Shahbaz Samalani – were killed.
In Quetta Irshad Mastoi, General Secretary of Balochistan Union of Journalists, Abdul Rasul Khjak and Mohammad Yunas, accountant of Online News Agency, and Chishti Mujahid were shot dead.
On the other hand, Saifur Rehman Baloch, Ijaz Raisani, Malik Arif, Imran Shaikh, Shahzad, and Mehmood Hamdard died in bomb blasts.
Lala Hameed Baloch and Siddique Aidu were murdered in Gwadar while Dilshad, who belonged to Gwadar, was shot dead in Lyari, Karachi.
In Kech and Turbat, Razaaq Gul, Abdul Karim, Ilyas Nazir, and Zareef Faraz were killed. Rehmanullah Baloch was shot dead in Panjgur. In Osta Mohammad, Afzal Khawaja, Zafar Jatak, and in Mach Bolan Rehmatullah became victims of violent deaths.
In Hub, General Secretary of press club Khadim Hussain Shaikh, Nasir Rind and Sikandar Palal were shot dead and journalist Mumtaz was killed in district Washuk.
Wali Khan Babar, who belonged to Chaman, was murdered in Karachi.
There are more journalists in Balochistan who have been killed but their names are not shared even by journalist friends, mainly because of fear.
Nothing much has been done for the families of these journalists and their killers not arrested.
Sadly, no journalist association or media center observes anniversaries of these martyrs. Even no columnist, analyst or senior journalist from Balochistan writes or talks about their fallen colleagues. Everybody is quiet. This silence is willful because everybody seems interested in securing his own interests.
Even more sadly is the silence of the media houses for which these slain journalists worked. Except for one or two, no news organization even condemned the killings or held a meeting in their remembrance.
The government’s condemnations are nothing but mere eyewash. It is important to keep in mind that only two or three journalists were murdered because of personal enmity while the rest were killed in the line of duty.
No one has ever bothered to ask about how the families of the slain journalists are coping.
Each time a journalist is killed, the usual pattern is that after some perfunctory statements from the local and international journalist bodies, there is complete silence. In Balochistan however, in some cases, not even condemnations were issued – perhaps because of fear or personal dislikes and likes or perhaps because of complete indifference.
Journalists and their families are harassed through various means. The owners of the TV channels fail to stand pressures and distance themselves from reporters, leaving them to fend for themselves. The media owners are only interested in money-making as their sons and daughters attend seminars and workshops outside Pakistan.
One can only request fellow journalists, many of them working without salary, not to put their lives in danger for owners who are indifferent to their welfare. They are not even ready to give a single column or run a ticker if something happens to a working journalist.
History will never forgive such owners. They only care about their own financial interests and personal relationship with those in power.
(The writer is a senior journalist based in Balochistan, and a former President of Khuzdar Press Club).
April 11, 2025: Sindhi journalist AD Shar was brutally murdered in Khairpur, Sindh. His body was found dumped on Handiyari Link Road. PFUJ has declared a three-day mourning period and demanded justice.
April 10, 2025: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has filed a case against The Daily Jammu & Kashmir and its staff for alleged fake news, drawing condemnation from PFUJ and IFJ, who demand immediate withdrawal of the FIR and an end to media repression in Pakistan.
April 08, 2025: Journalist Arzoo Kazmi alleges that Pakistan's state agencies, including the FIA, have blocked her CNIC, passport, and bank account while threatening her. She calls it a direct attack on journalism.
April 07, 2025: The Islamabad High Court has directed IG Islamabad to produce journalist Ahmad Noorani’s missing brothers, as the Ministry of Defence denies custody. SIM activity was traced in Bahawalpur, and investigations into their suspected abduction continue.
April 07, 2025: Journalist and Raftar founder Farhan Mallick has been granted bail by a Karachi court in a case concerning anti-state content aired on his YouTube channel. He still faces separate charges related to an alleged illegal call center and data theft.
April 03, 2025: Veteran journalist Ghulam Abbas Shah has joined Discover Pakistan Television as the Head of Programming. With 25 years of experience in leading news organizations, he looks forward to contributing to quality storytelling and content.
April 02, 2025: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has strongly condemned the visit of a group of Pakistani journalists to Israel, calling it a violation of journalistic ethics and a betrayal of press freedom and human rights. PFUJ demands a transparent investigation into the matter.
March 30, 2025: Dawn criticizes Pakistan’s plan to use TV dramas against extremism, highlighting financial and digital challenges. Can media alone solve deep-rooted issues?
April 03, 2025 The International Press Institute (IPI) and International Media Support (IMS) invite nominations for the 2025 World Press Freedom Hero and Free Media Pioneer Awards. Recognizing courageous journalists and innovative media, the awards will be presented at IPI’s 75th-anniversary World Congress in Vienna. Submit your nominations by April 30, 2025.
April 01, 2025 Photojournalist Suresh Rajak was burned alive while covering a violent protest in Kathmandu. The IFJ and its affiliates condemn the attack and call for an urgent investigation to hold the perpetrators accountable.
April 01, 2025 Assam Police arrested digital journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder for covering a protest against alleged corruption at Assam Co-Operative Bank. Media organizations have condemned the arrest, calling it an attack on press freedom.
March 29, 2025 A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle Voice of America (VOA), ruling that the move likely violated legal procedures. The decision protects over 1,200 journalists and media staff.
March 28, 2025 Turkey deports BBC journalist Mark Lowen over 'public order' threat and fines opposition TV channels covering Istanbul Mayor's arrest. Critics condemn crackdown on press freedom amid rising political tensions.