Balochistan: The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a prominent Baloch human rights organisation, said that a Baloch journalist had received death threats and urged action in response to the growing suppression of free speech in Balochistan.

Reporting on local and regional concerns, Javed Baloch, a brave journalist from Gwadar, Balochistan, has long been dedicated to maintaining journalistic standards and elevating the voices of under-represented people. His courageous reporting has brought attention to Balochistani socio-political inequities, environmental issues, and violations of human rights—topics that are often ignored by the mainstream media. Mr Baloch was recently threatened with murder over the phone by a man going by the name “Irfan”, who claimed to be associated with the Pakistan Coast Guards (PCG).

The person has ties to Pakistan’s intelligence services, according to reliable local sources, BYC said on X.

BYC described the conduct as a “targeted threat” and said that it is a part of a larger pattern of assault, harassment, and intimidation that journalists in Balochistan experience.

In addition, BYC noted in its post that threats of death against journalists are a grave infringement on their fundamental rights, especially the freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Pakistan is a state party, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

BYC urged the UN Human Rights Council, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and international press freedom watchdogs like the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to take immediate notice of the threat against Javed Baloch, claiming that the intimidation was not only putting the lives of individual journalists in danger but also helping to silence all journalists.

Additionally, BYC urged all national and international groups that promote press freedom and journalist safety to provide Javed Baloch with protection and assistance and to push for structural changes that ensure journalists’ safety in areas of conflict like Balochistan.

“Using violence and intimidation to silence journalists is an attack on accountability, truth, and the democratic process. In its closing words in the post on X, BYC said that journalist safety is a non-negotiable issue that has to be protected with the highest priority.

Enforced disappearances continue to be a troubling trend in the Balochistan area; some victims are finally freed, while others are subjected to targeted murders or prolonged captivity.

Locals’ rising sense of unease and distrust has been fuelled by these abuses of basic rights. Balochistan is still unstable due to the ongoing dread of arbitrary arrests and the lack of accountability, which undermines attempts to bring about justice, peace, and public trust in government institutions.