Pakistan journalist Nadir Abbas Baloch targeted with intimidation, threats

New York, January 27, 2026—Pakistani authorities must end their intimidation of journalist Nadir Abbas Baloch, who has been summoned twice for questioning in the past month over his reporting, and ensure his safety following several threats against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

On December 12, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) summoned Baloch, who often covers human rights on his YouTube channel, for allegedly publishing “derogatory remarks,” according to the journalist and a summons reviewed by CPJ. The NCCIA issued a second summons on January 7 after he failed to appear at the agency’s Lahore office for questioning.

“Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency must halt its harassment of Nadir Abbas Baloch and allow him to continue his work,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi. “Instead of intimidating journalists who expose wrongdoing, Pakistani officials should be protecting their ability to report, including from threats and online harassment.”

Baloch told CPJ he believed he was being targeted for his reporting on human rights and the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, including coverage of victims who alleged a gang was using the laws to extort money.

Muhammad Hassan Muavie, whose brother Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi is the chairperson of the Pakistan Ulema Council, was named as the complainant against Baloch, according to the summons, which does not specify the offending material.

The journalist told CPJ he wrote to the NCCIA saying he would not comply with the summons until he receives details of the allegations against him.

Baloch said he has also faced threats and online harassment. On May 30, 2025, he said his car was vandalized outside his home in Rawalpindi. He also alleged he was shadowed by an unmarked car on December 4 while returning from the Islamabad High Court after covering a case against human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari.

The same day, a former spokesperson for Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, an influential mosque long associated with hardline clerics, labeled Baloch, one of the few Shia and Baloch minority journalists, a “supporter of rebels against the Finality of Prophethood” on X, a charge seen as inciting violence by associating him with the persecuted Ahmadi religious community, according to Baloch and a copy of the post reviewed by CPJ. The post was later deleted.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, NCCIA Director Syed Khurram Ali, and Muavie did not respond to CPJ’s text messages or emails seeking comment.