Occupied Balochistan: Daily Tawar (Daily Voice), a Balochistan based Newspaper, has been receiving threats from Pakistani intelligence agencies from the day it started Publication said Khadam Lehri Baloch “editor of Daily Tawar”. He also said that despite limited resources and immense difficulties the Newspaper continued to serve Baloch Nation for past seven year. Pakistan’s notorious intelligence agencies have used different tactics to harass the staff, News agents and printing offices to stop working for Daily Tawar. After they failed to intimidate us with their pressure tactics, they now want to physically eliminate the Newspaper and the staff.
Pakistani government some years back banned the publication of Tawar and stopped giving governmental advertisement to it. Pakistan considers Daily Tawar an anti-state newspaper and blames it for doing propaganda against country. The paper is also accused for inciting violence among the masses of Balochistan, a senior official expressed these view while talking to Daily Tawar.
The Pakistani intelligence agencies left no stone unturned to shut down Tawar but the enormous support and contribution of Baloch Nation kept their National Paper alive. Under cover Pakistani officials made several attempts to abduct, Khadim Lehri, the editor in chief of Daily Tawar and raided of head office of the Newspaper in Karachi. Lala Hameed Baloch a senior journalist of Tawar was abducted by military forces last year and his mutilated body was found in the outskirt Gawadar town of Balochistan. Apart of Hameed Baloch several other Baloch journalists who used to write for Daily Tawar were also abducted and later killed under-custody, including Ahmed Dad Baloch, Nawaz Ahmed Marri, Rahmatullah Shaheen, Munir Shakir and advocate Ali Sher Kurd also used to write articles for Daily Tawar.
It is to be noted that Daily Tawar is the only Newpaper where all the above named Baloch journalists and other staff member work free of cost. Unfortunately in era of the so called democratic government which claims to believe in freedom of press, Daily Tawar faces many difficulties such as threats from agencies, burring its copies by pro-establishment parties/elements and few days back Mr. Naseer Rind Baloch an ex sub editor and a serving staff of Daily Tawar was abducted from Hub city of Balochistan by Pakistani intelligence agencies. Mr. Rind is still being held at some unknown location and his fate remain unknown. Not only Tawar’s reporters and correspondents feel insecure but every Baloch journalist who either works for any Balochi TV channel or Newspaper at risk of being abducted or killed by the Pakistani security agencies. Balochistan is going through difficult times and it specially a testing time for enlightened members of society including students, lawyers and journalists.
According to the latest sources Tawar once again was surrounded by Pakistani intelligence agencies in Karachi and Governmental forces are not letting the journalist to work properly. The staff of Tawar is being followed from home to work and work to round the clock. A senior journalist from Daily Tawar on the conditions of anonymity said that “unknown men wearing plain clothes are creating problems for us while coming in office, they threaten us to leave Tawar and cut the electricity supply in working times, ask for Khadam Lehri and miss behave with us” Daily tawar in its today’s publication wrote that: “Tawar once again is surrounded by Military forces, facing difficulties for its publication and the life of working journalists is in danger”.
Balochistan which currently presents the scene of a military concentration camp is facing numerous difficulties by Pakistan. The Baloch journalist including those working for Daily Tawar have already sought help from the international organization of human rights and international union of journalist to help secure the life of Baloch journalists in and put pressure on Pakistani security agencies to stop harassing, abducting and killing Baloch journalists. If the Organisation working for freedom of press, freedom of expression and freedom of media still keep silent on such criminal acts of Pakistan, then journalism in Balochistan will vanish and the voice the people of occupied Balochistan cannot reach the wider world.
We urge the Reporter without Borders, International Association of Journalists, International Union of Journalists, Union of Journalists, and Pakistan FUJ to call emergency meetings, urged Pakistan to stop harassing and intimidating the entire crew of Daily Tawar.
http://www.balochwarna.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3332
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