JournalismPakistan.com | Published 8 years ago | JP Staff Reporter
Join our WhatsApp channel
RAWALPINDI – Punjab Police raided the house of journalist Haroon Baloch early Saturday barging in without search warrants.
Baloch, also a digital media trainer, told JournalismPakistan.com, a dozen gun-totting policemen, some in plainclothes, arrived at his residence in New Town around 12.30am.
“I asked for the search warrants but they had brought none. The SHO told me they had come looking for terrorists and that doing so does not require warrants,” Baloch said.
The journalist and his family have lived in the neighborhood for almost 30 years. There were women and other family members inside when the police arrived.
However, he said the search may have been prompted because of his surname Baloch.
It is not the first time law enforcers have invaded a journalist’s privacy. In January last year, Rangers raided the home of Salman Masood, The Nation Resident Editor in Islamabad. That too was conducted without search warrants.
October 02, 2025: Islamabad Police stormed the National Press Club, attacking journalists covering a protest. PFUJ condemns police brutality and vows action to protect press freedom.
September 26, 2025: Broadcast journalist Maleeha Hashmey alleges harassment in Pakistan, citing travel ban, frozen bank accounts, and SIM blocking amid growing concerns over press freedom.
September 25, 2025: Journalist Imdad Soomro says he faces pressure after exposing corruption in the Sindh Public Service Commission, as the SHC halts recruitment over a fresh scandal.
September 18, 2025: Meher Bokhari’s frozen account exposes Pakistan’s deepening media clampdown. Why are journalists facing bans, no-fly lists, and financial blockades?
September 13, 2025: Journalist unions in Islamabad protest the trial of senior reporter Shahbaz Rana, calling it biased and a threat to press freedom in Pakistan.
September 13, 2025: Pakistani journalist Samina Pasha says her bank account was frozen by NCCIA, calling it part of efforts to silence critical media voices.
September 03, 2025: IFJ and PFUJ condemn APP’s case against journalist Furqan Rao, calling it a political vendetta. Unions demand withdrawal of the FIR and an end to harassment.
August 22, 2025: Senior journalist Khalid Jamil reportedly arrested in Islamabad during an NCCIA raid. Press freedom groups raise alarms as media crackdown intensifies in Pakistan.
October 28, 2025 Harvard University opens 2026 Nieman Fellowship applications for journalists worldwide. Apply by December 1, 2025 (international) or January 31, 2026 (U.S.) to join the prestigious program.
October 28, 2025 Sindh Police arrested four suspects linked to a banned outfit in the murder of journalist Imtiaz Mir, who was shot in Karachi in September 2025.
October 27, 2025 IFJ and over 300 global unions urge ASEAN to reject the Myanmar junta’s sham 2025 election, calling it an illegal attempt to legitimize military rule.
October 26, 2025 Riffat Ara Alvi, the mother of slain Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, has died, ending her relentless fight for justice following his killing in Kenya in 2022.
October 26, 2025 A veteran journalist reflects on the decline of newspapers, the rise of digital news, and how technology forever changed the rhythm and rituals of journalism.