Baloch was shot four times and killed in his home in the Mashkay Tehsil area of Awaran district in front of his wife and children in the early morning of May 24 when four armed men broke into property. According to a senior police official, the assailants tried to abduct him, but when Baloch resisted, they shot him dead on the spot.

While the assailants did not identify themselves, Baloch human rights groups have reported they 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.

Baloch, a prominent journalist affiliated with outlets Daily Intekhab, AAJ News, and ARY News, became a target of state hostility due to his critical coverage of human rights abuses, military crackdowns, and grassroots resistance movements, often reporting on enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the region’s fragile security.

According to local police, an investigation has commenced but an arrest is yet to be made. The attack follows the murder of the journalist’s eldest son, Saif Baloch, who was reportedly abducted and killed along with three other family members in February. The case is still awaiting investigation by authorities.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a Balochistan-based human rights group, said the killing was orchestrated to “erase Baloch identity and silence all who resist” and called on the United Nations and international press organisations to act on crimes against the Balochistan community.

The IFJ’s South Asia Press Freedom Report 2024-25, which documents media rights violations in the region from May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025, recorded 7 killings of journalists in Pakistan, amidst a six-place fall in the World Press Freedom Index 2025 to rank 158. Pakistan was the deadliest country in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024 according to the IFJ’s annual list of killed journalists. IFJ has continually called for all states to adopt the IFJ-led International Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists and Other Media Professionals, aimed at providing greater protection for media workers and journalism in the face of escalating violence and threats.

The PFUJ said:“PFUJ has continually called on the government to provide security to working journalists but the killings have not stopped and yet another journalist has lost his life. PFUJ President Rana Muhammad Azeem and Secretary General Shakeel Ahmed have demanded the Balochistan authorities immediately investigate and arrest the murderers of Latif Baloch and ensure his family is compensated.” 

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “The IFJ strongly condemns the killing of journalist Abdul Latif Baloch. Journalists continue to come under heavy fire in Pakistan, the deadliest country for journalists in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024, underscoring the urgent need for the government and authorities to take immediate, concrete action to protect journalists and hold all perpetrators fully accountable.”