April 29, 2026
Hafiz ullah Storai Sherani
ISLAMABAD
It is said that how deep democracy is seeped into a country can be gauged by the editorials of its newspapers, the discourse on its TV talk shows, and the nature of the questions asked by its journalists. In Pakistan, however, it seems “asking a question” has begun to give increasingly unpredicatable responses by the state authorities. The most recent example is the sudden termination by TV channel Neo News of Matiullah Jan, a prominent Islamabad-based journalist. This is being viewed as a textbook example of what international watchdogs call “soft censorship.”
The controversy surrounding Matiullah Jan is linked to an event at the National Press Club (NPC) in Islamabad. A few days ago, Jan and his colleagues hosted a delegation of international media representatives at the club, discussing the arrests of journalists and social activists. Following this, allegations surfaced across various platforms accusing Jan of providing a platform to foreign journalists to promote narratives “prejudicial to national interests.”
Matiullah rejected these allegations.
“We are not terrorists, nor do we block roads; we can only use our pens,” he said referring to the role of journalists in society/. “I believe that those who have the stolen mandate of power, and those who roam the power corridors, must also keep their doorways large enough for others to pass through. They should open their hearts to any form of criticism.”
Jan added that given the level of control and censorship already established over the current system, there should not be any reaction of panic.
“To criticise bringing a foreign journalist to the Press Club and saying that our journalists are being mistreated…this is the 21st century….The world is watching all things unfolding in Pakistan. International media is reporting it. The world saw what happened to Arshad Sharif. Nothing is hidden. If I spoke about the arrest of Fakhar-ur-Rehman, was that a sin? In fact he was even granted bail, which shows how weak the case against him was. I spoke about Advocate Imaan Mazari and Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha; their cases are now being heard in the Supreme Court. I believe journalists must speak the truth.”
On the other hand, Nasrullah Malik, Director of News at Neo News, maintains that Jan was not terminated due to his bold journalism, the Press Club incident, or external pressure, but rather due to financial constraints and ratings.
“These are institutional decisions, but unfortunately, in our country, everything is misattributed to incidents like the one at the Press Club or to external pressure,” he said. “I am the head of this organization; he worked with me for three and a half years. Whatever he did and said, he said with full freedom under my leadership. When he was unemployed, I was the one who offered him a role. At that time, despite pressure from the previous government, we kept his program on air. When Talat Hussain’s program was forced off-air elsewhere, we were the ones who gave him a platform.”
Overarching censorship
A review of Pakistan’s media landscape over recent years reveals a distinct pattern of sudden removal of journalists and leveling serious allegations against them – especially from televsion. Senior analysts like Talat Hussain and Nusrat Javeed have been blatantly removed from screens; Hamid Mir was taken off-air, and Amber Shamsi’s program was abruptly shut down. The brutal murder of Arshad Sharif in a foriegn country, and the enforced and prolonged disappearances of Imran Riaz Khan and others have further deepened the climate of fear.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), authorities in Pakistan are now using the method of “financial strangulation” instead of direct bans. Media houses are allegedly threatened with the withdrawal of government advertisements if certain journalists are not removed. While successive governments consistently claim that Pakistan’s media enjoys unparalleled freedom in the region, the reality on the ground tells a different story.
The noose is being tightened not just through terminations, but through draconian laws like the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). Whether it is Matiullah Jan, Asad Toor, or the recently arrested Fakhar-ur-Rehman, there is a common denominator: organized social media campaigns are launched to brand them as ‘traitors’ or ‘foreign agents’ to weaken public outcry over their dismissals or arrests.
“Matiullah Jan is an independent journalist who presents reporting and analysis based on facts,” said Qamar-uz-Zaman Bhatti, General Secretary of the Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ), while speaking to Voicepk. “If there was a grievance, the management should have issued a charge sheet explaining the reasons. This is an attack on press freedom. I demand the government and the Ministry of Information take notice of this.”
Meanwhile Nasir Zaidi, a veteran journalist and former official of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), told Voicepk that Pakistani journalism is passing through its worst era due to restrictive laws.
“The current media landscape is so controlled that it cannot be called free in any sense. Both freedom of expression and freedom of the press have become question marks. With the presence of laws like the PECA Act and the Punjab Defamation Law, journalism as we know it cannot exist. No journalist can conduct investigative reporting or research-based analysis. Even editorial content is compromised deciding whose article will be published and whose will not.”
The 2026 Freedom Network report
The media watchdog ‘Freedom Network’ released its latest annual report on April 29, 2026, warning that Pakistani journalism is trapped in a cycle of “repression and economic ruin.” The report identifies the weaponisation of the PECA law and the use of advertisement cuts to pressure media houses into firing journalists as a “consequential instrument” of censorship.