January 2, 2025
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
The year 2025 has proven catastrophic for press freedom globally, with Pakistan emerging as a stark example of systematic media suppression while journalists worldwide faced unprecedented violence.
The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) released its annual Media Freedom Report on December 31, 2025, documenting a year of intensified control, censorship, and violence against Pakistani journalists. This grim picture aligns with the International Federation of Journalists’ (IFJ) global assessment, which recorded 128 journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025, including three in Pakistan. Together, these reports paint a disturbing portrait of press freedom under assault, where journalists face threats ranging from institutional censorship to deadly violence for simply doing their jobs.
Pakistan’s precipitous fall in global press freedom rankings—dropping six places to 158th in the 2025 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) global media rating from 152nd in 2024—reflects the severity of the crisis. The CPNE report reveals that despite complete control and censorship over Pakistani media throughout 2025, journalists continued to face murders, arrests, treason cases, forced removals from broadcast, bank account closures, placement on the Exit Control List (ECL), and withdrawal of advertising revenue from media organizations. The uniformity of content across Pakistan’s print and electronic media has raised fundamental questions about the existence of independent journalism in the country.
Deadly violence and targeted killings
The most severe consequence of reporting in Pakistan remains the ultimate price: journalists’ lives. According to the CPNE report, five journalists were killed during 2025, with Pakistan ranking among countries that lost three journalists according to the IFJ’s global list. The IFJ documented that the Asia-Pacific region, which includes Pakistan, saw 15 journalists killed, with four in India, three in Pakistan, three in the Philippines, two in Bangladesh, two in Afghanistan, and one in Nepal.
The global context makes Pakistan’s situation even more alarming. “128 journalists killed in a single year is not just a statistic, it is a global crisis. These deaths are a brutal reminder that journalists are being targeted with impunity, simply for doing their job. Governments must act now to protect media workers, bring killers to justice, and uphold press freedom,” IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger stated.
The Middle East and Arab World region bore the brunt of journalist deaths globally, accounting for 74 fatalities—58% of all media professionals killed worldwide. Palestine suffered the highest toll with 56 journalists killed, followed by Yemen with 13 deaths. The IFJ recorded one of the worst-ever attacks on media offices when an Israeli Army strike on the offices of the ’26 September’ newspaper in Yemen killed 13 journalists and media workers. In Gaza, six journalists including Al Jazeera reporter Anas Al-Sharif were killed in a targeted attack on August 10 while sheltering in a tent near Al Shifa Hospital.
Legal persecution and arbitrary detention
Beyond killings, Pakistani journalists faced systematic legal harassment throughout 2025. The CPNE report documented that six journalists faced trials, arrests, or official action during the year. This legal persecution represents a deliberate strategy to silence critical voices through the machinery of the state. Journalists found themselves charged with treason—one of the most serious crimes carrying severe penalties—simply for their reporting.
The use of legal mechanisms to suppress journalism extends beyond Pakistan. Globally, the IFJ released a list of 533 journalists currently imprisoned, with China standing out as the world’s biggest jailer. The Asia-Pacific region continues to imprison the largest number of journalists, with 277 currently behind bars. China, including Hong Kong, holds 143 journalists in detention, followed by Myanmar with 49 and Vietnam with 37.
In Europe, the number of imprisoned journalists rose by nearly 40% compared to the previous year, reaching 149—the highest figure recorded since 2018. This increase stems primarily from intensified repression in Azerbaijan and Russia. In the Middle East and Arab World, 74 journalists remain imprisoned, primarily in Israel, which holds 41 Palestinian journalists, followed by Egypt with 15 and Yemen with 11.
Financial strangulation and economic warfare
The CPNE report reveals a sophisticated strategy of financial warfare against independent media in Pakistan. Journalists faced extraordinary measures including closure of national identity cards, freezing of bank accounts, and actions under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). This economic strangulation extends to media organizations themselves through the systematic withdrawal of government advertising revenue.
Dawn News Group lost its print, electronic, and radio advertisements due to its unbiased editorial policy, according to the CPNE report. Similarly, the Jang, Awaz, and Waqt Group newspapers were forced to downsize significantly due to severe government pressure. The report states that “the policy of undeclared censorship, news blackouts through price-sensitive advisories, and depriving newspapers of government advertisements in case of non-compliance has plunged the print media into a severe financial crisis, due to which many newspapers have reached the brink of closure.”
These unfavorable conditions have created a climate where newspapers have been forced to close, newsrooms of major media groups have been emptied, and publications have had no choice but to dismiss employees. The CPNE emphasized that print media serves as the most important source of information in Balochistan, yet continuous pressure, censorship, and prolonged internet shutdowns have severely affected the free flow of information in the region.
Forced silencing of broadcast journalists
Television journalism faced particularly aggressive suppression in 2025. Due to what the CPNE described as “the narrow-mindedness of the government,” numerous anchor persons were taken off-air from their programs or forced to leave. The report specifically names prominent journalists including Kashif Abbasi, Habib Akram, Paras Jahanzeb, Samina Pasha, Sami Ibrahim, Arif Hameed Bhatti, and Khalid Jamil among the many TV anchors who were silenced.
This systematic removal of critical voices from broadcast media contributes to the uniformity of content that has become characteristic of Pakistani media. When diverse perspectives are eliminated and only government-approved narratives remain, the fundamental purpose of journalism—to inform the public and hold power accountable—becomes impossible.
Harassment, intimidation, and movement restrictions
The CPNE report documented three journalists who were subjected to harassment and pressure during 2025. Beyond this, journalists faced placement on the Exit Control List, effectively trapping them within Pakistan and preventing them from traveling abroad. This restriction on movement serves both as punishment and as a warning to others who might consider critical reporting.
The report also recorded two press conferences that were stopped, two attacks on media offices, and two serious incidents of violence. Additionally, two major digital restrictions and one controversial legislation severely affected freedom of expression. These incidents have collectively increased the sense of insecurity among journalists, created obstacles in free reporting, and made surveillance and pressure from state institutions clearly felt throughout the media community.
Judicial hostility toward press freedom
In a particularly troubling development, the CPNE report highlights that the judiciary itself has contributed to undermining press freedom. The report states that “along with the legislature and the administration, the judiciary has also left no stone unturned in shaking the fourth pillar of the state.”
Specifically, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani’s use of the word “dummy” to describe newspapers is characterized in the report as “a wound inflicted by the judiciary that will never heal.” This judicial hostility adds another dimension to the crisis, as journalists find themselves without recourse when even the courts, traditionally seen as protectors of constitutional rights, appear to have turned against press freedom. The report poignantly asks: “Now, to whom should the penmen tell the story of their misdeeds?”
The broader global context
Pakistan’s crisis exists within a broader global assault on journalism. Since 1990, when the IFJ launched its annual Killed List, the organization has recorded 3,173 journalist deaths worldwide—an average of 91 deaths per year, with 876 in the last decade alone. The 2025 figure of 128 deaths, including 10 women journalists, represents a 5% increase from the 122 deaths documented in 2024.
Conflict zones proved particularly deadly. Ukraine recorded eight journalist deaths, while Sudan reported six. The IFJ noted a deeply worrying trend: the deliberate use of drones to target journalists. Ukrainian journalists Olena Hramova, Yevhen Karmazin, and Tetyana Kulyk, along with French journalist Antoni Lallican, were deliberately killed by Russian drones, while Russian journalist Ivan Zuev was also reportedly killed in a drone attack.
CPNE calls on govt to end violence against journalists
The CPNE issued a forceful call to action, strongly condemning all incidents documented in its report and stressing that “independent, safe and impartial journalism is the cornerstone of any democratic society.” The organization warned that “without freedom of expression and access to information, democratic structures are weakened, the consequences of which are detrimental not only to the media but also to the entire society.”
The CPNE called on the government to immediately end violence, harassment, and illegal actions against journalists, review legislation restricting freedom of expression, provide a safe and free environment for journalists and media organizations, and ensure that the right to freedom of expression is fully respected in accordance with the Constitution and international democratic laws.
The organization reiterated its determination to continue its struggle to protect media freedom, defend journalists’ rights, and promote democratic values. Similarly, the IFJ’s call for a United Nations convention guaranteeing the safety and independence of journalists everywhere underscores the global nature of this crisis.
As 2025 closes, the situation for Pakistani journalists remains dire. The CPNE report notes that “the security, autonomy and professional freedom of media institutions and the journalist community have been severely threatened and there is severe anxiety and restlessness among the penmen everywhere in the country.” Most tragically, the report concludes that journalists “do not see any hope of salvation from any side.” This hopelessness, perhaps more than any specific incident, captures the depth of the crisis facing press freedom in Pakistan and the urgent need for change.