On May 24, Latif Baloch was killed by unidentified gunmen who broke into his home in the Mashkay Tehsil subdivision of the Awaran district in Balochistan province.
The National Union of Journalists in a statement said that local or Balochistan human rights groups have alleged that the men “belonged to a state-backed militia as part of a ‘kill and dump’ campaign, with Pakistani military and intelligence agencies allegedly targeting journalists, activists, and intellectuals in the conflict-torn Balochistan province.”
The journalist’s cousin, Naseem Baloch, told CPJ that a first information report, a police document opening an investigation, has not been filed with local authorities about the killing, although local police told the media that an investigation was underway. The motive remains unclear.
In 2016 and 2017, Baloch was summoned twice to a Pakistani army camp in Balochistan and kept in custody for months, according to Naseem Baloch.
In February, the journalist’s son and three of his relatives were kidnapped and killed by unidentified people.
Balochistan police inspector general Moazzam Jah Ansari did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment via messaging app.