LOS ANGELES / LAHORE — Press Freedom Desk

California-based journalist, writer and YouTuber Aaliya Shah has been targeted with death threats and abusive messages on the social platform X, according to a column by journalist Hassan Mujtaba published in NY Urdu. Mujtaba writes that the threats came from Pakistan after Shah produced programs on her YouTube channel, Breaking the Barrier, about the recent elections in Israel and about antisemitism.

Shah is known for her outspoken commentary, her stand against antisemitism and her pro-Israel views. Mujtaba notes that her frank style and her agreements and disagreements with guests have drawn both praise and criticism. For any serious writer, he argues, the greatest legacy is a voice that makes people think, disagree and talk, and that is a very different thing from being threatened with death.

What the Column Reports

Mujtaba describes a spectrum of abuse. At one end are insults that he says are typical of extremist online mobs, including sexually degrading personal attacks and sectarian slurs. At the other are explicit threats to her life. One post, he writes, said a woman like Shah deserved the death penalty, and it gathered thousands of likes on X. That public approval, he argues, makes the matter more serious.

“Freedom of expression gives the right to disagree with someone. It never gives the right to threaten to take a life.”— Hassan Mujtaba, NY Urdu (paraphrased from the Urdu original)

Other messages labeled Shah an “Israeli agent,” a journalist “sold for a few shekels,” and “Zionist waste,” and claimed that Jews and Christians cannot be friends of Muslims. Mujtaba says that kind of rhetoric also comes from people who claim to want harmony among the children of Abraham, and he writes that it is part of the price journalists like Shah and himself have come to expect. He insists, however, that the death threats are not mere social media rudeness and should be treated seriously.

Echoes of Earlier Cases

Mujtaba links the threats to a wider pattern of intimidation. He says similar threats were made to his colleague and friend, journalist Imtiaz Mir, who was later killed in Pakistan. He also recalls that Pakistani political dissidents and exiles in Europe, including Waqas Goraya and his associates, were threatened, and that a plot against them was uncovered, with those involved tried and sentenced in London.

Calls for Investigation

Mujtaba says the matter should be taken to Pakistan’s DG ISPR and to the National Cyber Crime authorities, with a demand for an inquiry. Because Shah lives in the United States, he adds, American authorities should quickly and transparently identify the sources of the threats, the people behind them and any possible danger, bring those responsible before the US justice system, and guarantee the safety of Shah and her family.

A Test for a Free Press

Mujtaba concludes that journalism should be answered with argument, not with bullets, abuse or threats to kill. In his words, Shah’s safety is not only the concern of one journalist; it is a test of free journalism, human dignity and the basic right to disagree.

Read the original column: “Sahafi Aaliya Shah ko maut ki dhamkiyan” at NY Urdu.

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