April 29, 2023
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
As Pakistan is set to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, a new annual report by media watchdog organization the Freedom Network, with the support of Internatonal Media Support, serves as a serious warning — highlighting the urgent need to safeguard the role of a free and independent press in an increasingly constrained environment.
Pakistan’s media landscape has entered one of its most restrictive and precarious phases in recent years, marked by expanding legal controls, growing censorship, economic fragility and escalating threats to journalists, according to the comprehensive report.
Titled Regulatory Repression of Freedom of Expression, the report paints a stark picture of a country where the space for independent journalism is steadily narrowing under the weight of legal coercion, state regulation and a deteriorating safety environment for media practitioners.Drawing on verified data from mid-2025 to early 2026, the report argues that Pakistan’s press freedom crisis is no longer defined by isolated incidents but by a systemic pattern of control, with the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) emerging as the central instrument reshaping the country’s information ecosystem.
PECA: From cybercrime tool to instrument of control
At the heart of the report lies a sustained critique of PECA, originally enacted in 2016 to address cybercrime but increasingly used to regulate speech and suppress dissent.
Over the past year, the law has been deployed against journalists, lawyers, political commentators and even ordinary citizens, often under broadly defined provisions such as “fake news” or “offensive content.”The report highlights how high-profile convictions—such as those of human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha—have had a chilling effect across the media landscape.
Their sentencing to lengthy prison terms for social media remarks was widely condemned by rights groups and cited as emblematic of a broader trend of criminalizing expression.By October 2025 alone, at least 30 journalists had been implicated in 36 separate proceedings under PECA. Government figures later revealed that 187 cases related to alleged dissemination of “fake news” had been registered under the amended law.Critics argue that these prosecutions disproportionately target dissenting voices, reinforcing a climate of fear that encourages self-censorship.
Legal pressure and violence: A dual threat
The report documents 129 verified violations against journalists during the review period, revealing a pattern where legal intimidation and physical threats operate in tandem.Legal actions—including threats of prosecution and actual court cases—accounted for nearly half of all violations.
When combined with incidents of physical harm, including assaults and threats, these categories made up nearly two-thirds of all cases.State authorities emerged as the most frequent perpetrators, responsible for over 60 percent of recorded violations, primarily through legal and custodial measures such as arrests, detentions and formal charges.At the same time, non-state actors—including militant groups, criminal networks and political actors—continued to pose serious risks, contributing to assaults, threats and targeted killings.
The human cost remains stark. The report notes that more than 190 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 2000, with convictions secured in only two cases — underscoring a deep-rooted culture of impunity.
Regional hotspots and uneven risk
Geographically, Punjab and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) have emerged as the most dangerous regions for journalists, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all recorded violations. However, the report cautions that lower numbers in regions such as Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan may reflect underreporting rather than lower risk, given the limited capacity for documentation and the presence of severe security threats. Across regions, journalists face a complex web of pressures. In conflict-prone areas, militant groups impose their own forms of censorship, while in urban centers, legal harassment and regulatory controls dominate.
Censorship expands across digital and traditional media
The report highlights a growing convergence between legal regulation and technological control, with authorities expanding oversight of both traditional and digital platforms.Television channels have faced abrupt suspensions, while courts have ordered the blocking of online content and social media accounts. In one notable case, authorities sought to ban more than two dozen YouTube channels accused of spreading anti-state narratives.Internet shutdowns and connectivity disruptions have further restricted access to information.
In Balochistan, a 16-day blackout in August 2025 severely limited reporting capacity, while nationwide slowdowns and outages have become increasingly common during politically sensitive periods.Although the rollout of 5G services in 2026 promises improved connectivity, the report notes that technological progress remains overshadowed by regulatory constraints and surveillance concerns.
Disinformation, surveillance and the blurring of boundaries
A major theme of the report is the state’s response to disinformation, which has intensified significantly over the past year.Authorities have established supervisory councils, expanded monitoring mechanisms and proposed new regulatory bodies to oversee digital content. While framed as efforts to combat misinformation, these measures have often resulted in expanded surveillance and selective enforcement.
The report warns that vague definitions of “fake news” and “incendiary narratives” blur the line between legitimate criticism and harmful content, enabling authorities to suppress dissent under the guise of regulation.This dynamic was particularly evident during the India-Pakistan military confrontation in May 2025, when both mainstream and social media were flooded with doctored visuals, recycled footage and unverified claims, distorting public understanding of events.
Economic fragility
Beyond legal and physical threats, the report identifies economic insecurity as a critical but often overlooked factor undermining press freedom.Across Pakistan, journalists face delayed salaries, job insecurity and increasing dependence on government advertising—a dynamic that allows authorities to exert indirect control over media outlets.In some regions, journalists receive little to no salary, relying instead on alternative income sources or informal arrangements. The selective allocation—or denial—of government advertising has become a powerful tool of financial pressure, effectively shaping editorial policies without overt censorship. Mass layoffs, closure of media bureaus and the collapse of local news outlets further exacerbate the crisis, leaving journalists increasingly vulnerable.
Women journalists face compounded risks
The situation is particularly severe for women in media, who face both systemic exclusion and targeted harassment.According to the report, women account for just four percent of news content in Pakistan—a sharp decline from previous years.Female journalists frequently encounter workplace discrimination, online abuse and legal harassment.
Cases of deepfake attacks, arbitrary detentions and charges under PECA highlight the intersection of gender-based violence with broader restrictions on press freedom.The detention of women journalists during the Aurat March in March 2026 underscores the risks faced by those covering sensitive social and political issues.
Transparency erodes amid weak RTI enforcement
While Pakistan has right to information (RTI) laws at both federal and provincial levels, the report finds that implementation remains inconsistent and often ineffective.Public bodies routinely fail to disclose information, while oversight institutions adopt restrictive interpretations that limit access. Federal agencies, in particular, lag behind provinces in compliance, with only 40 percent of required information made available online.The continued use of colonial-era secrecy laws further undermines transparency, weakening the media’s ability to hold power to account.
Taken together, the findings present a picture of a media ecosystem under sustained pressure from multiple directions.Legal frameworks intended to regulate digital spaces have evolved into tools of control. Economic vulnerabilities have deepened dependence on state structures. Technological advances have been accompanied by increased surveillance. And physical threats continue to endanger journalists’ lives.The result, the report concludes, is a “shrinking space for free expression,” where journalists, citizens and rights defenders must navigate an increasingly hostile environment.
Call for reform
The report concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at reversing the decline in press freedom.These include revising or repealing restrictive provisions of PECA, strengthening implementation of journalist protection laws, ensuring transparency through effective RTI enforcement and providing legal and institutional support to media workers.It also calls for a more balanced approach to regulating digital content—one that addresses disinformation without undermining fundamental rights.Without such reforms, the report warns, Pakistan risks entrenching a cycle of censorship, coercion and fragility that could have lasting consequences for its democratic institutions.