In the end of Janaury, Asif Baloch, who edits daily Azadi Urdu newspaper and is son of late journalist Siddiq Baloch, informed me of his father’s second anniversary which is dated on 6 February. Since then, I have been thinking what to write to remember his journalist services for Balochistan on his second anniversary. Because I still feel he can object to whatever I write about him. This feeling, I obtained when he would read stories of mine and would either call me to explain the mistakes on the phone or he would explain in persons during visits to office. And of course, he would scold me, too.

This is somewhat like my friend Asif Baloch has put me to a test as he usually does at Quetta Press Club. But I confess I am failed in this test. In Quetta and elsewhere in the province, people and journalist community is well aware of Siddiq Saheb’s services for the ill-fated province. Sometimes I wondered what he has not sacrificed for the province, especially for his journalist community. To Balochistan’s journalists, he was a ray of hope. And that ray has gone with him.

In Balochistan and elsewhere, journalism is suffocated by several quarters for the obvious reason: it is people oriented. That is, unfortunately, unacceptable, particularly in the corridors of power. Siddiq knew the fact very well. Throughout his journalistic career, he fought against the said mindset through his writings, editorials, and protests. Undeterred till his last days, he could be seen on his blue Vespa arriving at Press Club to join his fellow journalists in the protests for the freedom of the press, despite the fact that these protests can/could hardly make a difference in corridors of power.

Siddiq relentlessly and single handedly continued his struggle for people’s right to information. Through his newspapers, he disseminated information across the province. As for myself, I was introduced to journalism through daily Azadi newspaper. At the time, I was at a school. Other than our own text books, we were not aware of the happenings of the outer world and our own province. Thanks to Azadi, we could get the news of our province, as well as it had provided a platform to us to write for it. Like myself, there are several of journalists I know are now active journalists have written and worked for daily Azadi and Balochistan Express, the English newspaper Siddiq Baloch had founded first after his arrival in Quetta from Karachi.

In places like Balochistan, newspapers like daily Azadi and Intekhab are institutions to gain experience and to become journalists/reporters. As for government institutions, these just distribute salaries. As for Siddiq Baloch, he founded his newspapers to have trained future journalists/reporters, so that they write and report their own issues and serve the province in their own capacity. He was well aware of the fact that if one cannot report and write his issues he/she is confronted in the province, none else can come out of the province to report/write it the way they want it.

Ever since I have joined Dawn, I have had the opportunity of visiting several districts of the province while working on my stories. Whether there were either common people or tribal notables or people belonging to different walks of life, I have been asked about Siddiq saheb. In remote parts of Balochistan, people would also listen to him on radio, where he regularly spoke related to Balochistan’s topics. It is understandable he was discussed and asked because of his public oriented journalism, and everyone thought he spoke what he is confronted with.

There has always been a question in my mind: in such a place like Balochistan where journalism is challenging, how would he cope with the hardships he faced due to his journalism? Meanwhile, although his newspapers were dependent on government advertisements, he never succumbed to the government’s pressure. Instead, his editorials and writings would criticize the government over public interest issues. As a result, sometimes his newspapers would be not given government advertisements. Before his death, too, the government had stopped giving advertisements to his newspapers for some time. But he did not give up.

To many of us, Siddiq Saheb is still a guiding spirit. Undeterred, committed and uncompromising in his journalism, his message is clear and aloud: journalism is a responsibility. If you take up it once, it is not going to leave you.