PARIS: Dr. Naseem Baloch, Chairman of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), shared a powerful statement on X addressing the restrictions on public discourse following the death of cultural icon Asha Bhosle.
He criticized the intolerance that surfaces when even mourning or acknowledging an artist becomes a matter of controversy, describing it as a sign of a system that seeks to control not only political expression but human emotions as well.
Dr. Baloch denounced Pakistan as a “rogue and terrorist state,” emphasizing that when a government criminalizes speech, silences grief and imprisons dissent, it reveals insecurity rather than strength.
Highlighting ongoing human rights abuses, he pointed to the continued detention and harsh sentencing of activists such as Advocate Imaan Z Hazir Mazari and her husband Advocate Hadi Ali CHahta, describing a seventeen-year imprisonment over a tweet as “state barbarity.”
Reaffirming that freedom of expression is recognized under international law and is fundamental to any functioning society, Dr. Baloch warned that punishing individuals for speaking, writing, or even remembering effectively brands truth itself as dangerous.
He further cautioned that these repressive practices extend their implications beyond Pakistan’s borders. Dr. Baloch urged governments, international organizations and global actors to hold such regimes accountable, warning that failure to do so risks complicity in normalizing repression.
