Newspaper distribution in Balochistan begins to suffer after threats from armed groups

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 23 October 2017 |  JP Staff Reporter

Threats from the United Baloch Army have halted newspaper distribution in Balochistan. Both local and inter-provincial transporters have ceased operations.

Summary

QUETTA – Distribution of newspapers in Balochistan was affected Monday following threats from a banned terrorist group.

According to reports vehicles from the provincial capital Quetta did not carry the newspapers to the interior of the province and Karachi for distribution.

Similarly, coaches from Karachi (Sindh) that bring newspapers published there to Quetta for distribution were without their usual load of print.

Earlier this month, the banned United Baloch Army claimed the journalists were only presenting the government’s point of view and warned of armed action against them.

Its spokesman Murid Baloch warned print journalists to stay away from newspaper offices and press clubs and the newspaper hawkers and transporters to stop distributing newspapers.

The banned group had set October 24 as the deadline in this regard.

The Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) and the Quetta Press Club had called on the country’s top media bodies to play their roles in the wake of these threats.

Meanwhile, pamphlets were also distributed in some areas of the province by Balcohistan Liberation Front that too warned of action against the press.

KEY POINTS:

• Banned group claims journalists only represent the government
• Disruption of newspaper deliveries from Quetta to interior Balochistan
• Pamphlets warning journalists were distributed in the province
• Balochistan Union of Journalists urges media bodies to intervene
• October 24 set as a deadline for journalists to comply with threats