A journalist actively covering the recent Baloch Raaji Muchi (Baloch National Gathering) to Gwadar reported on X that police arrived at his house at midnight in an attempt to arrest him. This comes amid a complete media blackout of the Baloch National Gathering in Pakistan.
Usman Khan, a digital journalist and manager of the Zaiwa News channel on YouTube and Facebook, has been targeted by Pakistan police for his reporting on protests over human rights abuses in Pak-occupied-Balochistan. The raid on Khan’s home is an effort to silence the voices of oppressed nations by the Pakistan Army.
According to Khan, police officers, both in uniform and plainclothes, raided his home on July 31, 2 and 5 August. Khan managed to evade arrest by going into hiding. He said that authorities were actively seeking him due to his coverage of the military crackdown on demonstrators heading to Gwadar for a protest on July 28, which addressed issues such as enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in POB. The protest resulted in the deaths of three individuals in clashes with security forces.
Khan reported that military officials had previously questioned protesters about him and contacted his father, urging him to return to Quetta, the capital of POB. Despite the intimidation, Khan remains committed to his reporting on the situation in Pak-occupied-Balochistan, where freedom fighters have long sought independence from the occupied Army.