A new research report by the media watchdog Freedom Network warns that journalists in Balochistan are facing increasing pressure, intimidation and violence from multiple actors, resulting in widespread self-censorship and a shrinking space for independent reporting in the region.
The report, titled State of Media Freedoms, Access to Information and Safety of Journalists and Media Professionals in Balochistan – The Way Forward, was released on Sunday and examines Balochistan’s overall media landscape, threat actors, service structures, gender dynamics, legal cases and challenges, including censorship, harassment, intimidation and dismissals from service.
At the report’s launch, Freedom Network Executive Director Iqbal Khattak said journalism in Balochistan had entered a deeply constrained phase.
“In Balochistan, we have lost journalism — where self-censorship and enforced censorship have become so widespread that journalists are compelled to remain silent to avoid unpleasant consequences,” he said.
He expressed hope that the findings would draw the attention of policymakers and media institutions so that journalists and support staff can “remain safe, and citizens can gain access to reliable information”.
According to the report, security conditions, governance practices, economic limitations and demographic realities have combined to severely undermine media freedom and journalists’ safety in Balochistan.
The report says access to information in the region has remained “consistently restricted”, with local media financially weak and regional issues rarely entering the national news agenda. Limited digital infrastructure, weak revenue models and mounting pressure from both state and non-state actors have contributed to a climate where independent reporting is no longer possible and journalists frequently avoid sensitive topics.
These factors, it notes, have resulted in reduced and inconsistent coverage of public-interest issues. “The cumulative effect is systematic under-coverage of public-interest issues, heightened self-censorship, and a steady erosion of citizens’ right to know.”
The report states that while electronic media expanded quickly nationwide after the creation of PEMRA in 2002, the presence of strong regional media in Balochistan remained limited. National TV channels and newspapers have steadily reduced their Quetta bureaus, and coverage from outside the capital is “almost non-existent”.
There is no terrestrial current-affairs TV channel operating in Balochistan. State broadcasters such as PTV and Radio Pakistan operate mostly from urban centres, and their multilingual mandate complicates both content production and audience reach.
Regarding private media, the report says Balochi-language channels based in Karachi project themselves as 24-hour satellite channels with audiences across Balochistan and abroad.
Private FM radio stations operate under licensing restrictions that confine their transmission radius to 35–40 kilometres, making them ineffective in a region defined by vast distances and scattered populations.
Print media, the report notes, is largely concentrated in Quetta and struggles with high costs, long distribution routes and low literacy rates in rural districts. Out of more than 120 publications listed with the Balochistan DGPR, only around a dozen daily newspapers have genuine readership. Many operate as “dummies” to obtain government advertisements rather than to serve audiences.
The report highlights Pakistan’s digital divide, noting that at the beginning of 2025 the country had 116 million internet users—about 45.7 percent of the population. In contrast, internet access in Balochistan stands at just 15 percent, with 60 percent lacking fibre-optic connectivity.
It says prolonged and localised internet shutdowns, sometimes lasting weeks or months, further restrict access to information and communication. The suspension of internet services in Panjgur since May 2025 and in Khuzdar following recent attacks were cited as examples of how connectivity blackouts deepen the digital gap.
According to the report, such shutdowns not only prevent journalists from filing stories but also compromise their ability to verify information, communicate with editors and ensure personal safety. “These disruptions create sustained information blackouts,” it notes, disproportionately affecting already marginalized regions.
Although social media has become a vital reporting tool, journalists and citizen reporters face surveillance, pressure to remove content and the risk of retaliation.
The study adds that over the past two decades “40 journalists have been killed in Balochistan; roughly 30 were targeted killings, the rest collateral to bombings or attacks”. Khuzdar is identified as one of the most dangerous districts for journalists.
The report says that beyond physical threats, media workers also face “structural barriers to reporting”, including the closure of local offices, severe reductions in advertising revenue and restrictions on newspaper circulation.
It also highlights severe gender disparities in Balochistan’s media, noting that women journalists remain very few in number and are largely confined to Quetta. They face multiple constraints, including limited mobility, hostile field conditions, sexism in newsrooms, wage gaps, inadequate facilities and harassment both online and offline.
Editors often avoid assigning district-level reporting to women “in the name of safety”, the report says, reinforcing gendered stereotypes. In many cases, women prepare reports that are ultimately broadcast in the voices of male colleagues.