Officially first ever Baloch female journalist and the editor of the Balochi language daily newspaper “Nawa-e-Watan”, Amna Panah passed away in Quetta on Thursday.
Amna Panah’s funeral took place on Sabzal Road in Quetta, where she was later laid to rest. As the daughter of the newspaper’s founder, Malik Muhammad Panah, she was a prominent figure in journalism and a key advocate for the Balochi language.
“Nawa-e-Watan” was initially established as a weekly publication in the 1950s by Malik Muhammad Panah and Ghulam Muhammad Shawani. In 2003, Baloch writer Abdullah Dashti, who worked at the publication for five years, helped transition the paper into a daily publication.
Despite being printed in Quetta, the capital city, Nawa-e-Watan struggles to attract a substantial readership. As the Baloch people increasingly turn away from their only native language newspaper, the government has also overlooked the publication when allocating advertisements. Nevertheless, Amna Panah and her husband, Muneer Essa, managed to keep Nawa-e-Watan in circulation, with Abdullah Baloch ensuring its availability both online and in print.