Balochistan is among those regions of the world where an undeclared ban has been imposed on the entry of international journalists. If local journalists refrain from promoting the state narrative, they often face severe consequences such as enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. For daring to expose the truth about state oppression to the world, forty-two journalists have been killed in Balochistan to date.
Amnesty International has labelled Balochistan a “cemetery for journalists,” while in 2014, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Khuzdar—the divisional headquarters of Kalat—as one of the ten most dangerous cities in the world for the journalistic profession. While Pakistan is generally considered a dangerous country for journalists, Balochistan has long since become a killing field for them. Revealing state atrocities here often amounts to signing one’s own death warrant.
Due to state pressure, Pakistan’s mainstream media outlets are unable to report on the war-like atmosphere in Balochistan, the violations of human rights, and the issue of enforced disappearances. A one-sided and distorted narrative is projected to the world, portraying the Baloch national movement as the outcome of a foreign conspiracy, thereby stripping it of its political legitimacy.
The struggle for independence in Balochistan has been ongoing for more than two decades. In recent years, the operations of Baloch insurgents have shown increased intensity and strategic planning, to which the state has responded with even harsher counter-insurgency policies. As a result, in many districts of Balochistan, civilians are forced to live under direct state repression. In such circumstances, the primary duty of journalism should be to expose these injustices. Unfortunately, however, Pakistan’s media institutions have become complicit in oppression by promoting the state’s narrative in place of the truth.