Attacked, Threatened, Booked and Silenced — looking back at the year, 2025, once again we see a bleak picture of media safety and free expression in Pakistan. 

Despite repeated reminders and historic patterns of threats to media safety including documented violence and attacks on press freedom in Pakistan, journalists and media professionals continue directly facing consequences for their work and work within a media environment where, despite it being a Constitutional right, freedom of expression remains under attack.

International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists provides an urgent reminder of the need to change course and to work towards building a safer environment for journalists and for the right to free expression to be protected. We must work towards implementing commitments that Pakistan has made  — both domestically and internationally — to protect this right and to move beyond lip service to actual measures and effective implementation of existing mechanisms that provide recourse in instances of attacks on journalists and can finally help in moving the needle toward reduced impunity for these crimes. 

Between January and October 2025, Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) documented at least 137 confirmed attacks on journalists and media professionals in connection with their work and attempts of censorship to regulate and restrict free expression including:

Assault and Violence:

• 35 instances of physical assault and manhandling, and 2 journalists injured in an accident while on assignment
• 5 detentions
• 2 instances of abduction
• 4 attacks on property including raids

Legal Challenges:

• 8 arrests
• 30 instances of case registration, including 22 with sections of Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) included
• 23 documented instances of legal action, including by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA)

Intimidation:

• 7 instances of threats issued including online threats/harassment
• 3 instances of threats of legal action
• 7 instances of harassment and intimidation including through a journalist’s family or through the rhetoric, remarks and actions of political leaders or the government
• 2 instances of placement on the No Fly List

Censorship, Restrictions and Regulation:

• 6 instances of mobile or internet service suspensions
• 1 Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) directive
• 1 court order to block 27 YouTube channels
• 1 restriction on reporting from outside Adiala Jail where the opposition leader is being held

This year documented incidents include those of direct targeting of media professionals through threats of and actual acts of physical violence as well as increasingly through legal channels such as notices, criminal complaints and arrests; the perpetuation of violence against the media by political party leaders and the government; the bulldozing the passage of restrictive legislation that undermines free expression and brazen attacks on property amongst others.

In Pakistan, journalists continue to face physical violence because of their work. In 2025, PPF has documented: at least 35 incidents of physical assault and manhandling, two journalists injured in an accident while reporting, five instances of journalists being detained, two abductions and four instances of attacks on property, including raids. These numbers tell the story of the safety of the media in the country. Along with legal measures, threats, and intimidation of journalists and media professionals also being documented, the continuation of physical violence the lack of preventive, protective, and prosecutorial measures in place to safeguard journalists as they do their work. 

In a year where Pakistan saw unprecedented flooding, journalists at the frontline covering these climate crises were also subject to violence. On August 30, Geo News reporter Irfanullah and cameraman Ali Arsalan were assaulted and forcibly removed by personnel of the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (PERA) while covering residents impacted by floods in Faisalabad in the Punjab province. As climate change and its impacts intensify, with extreme weather events becoming increasingly likely, there is an urgent need to protect the safety of reporters covering such events. This should take the form of both appropriate training, risk assessments, and reporting plans for those in the field, as well as measures to counter the violence they have faced while reporting. 

In what has now appeared to become an unfortunate tactic are attempts to undermine the sanctity of physical spaces, including press clubs.  On March 1, police forcibly entered the Quetta Press Club (QPC) premises. On June 2, a group of men allegedly linked to one faction of the disputed custodians of the Luari Sharif shrine attacked the Badin Press Club. Even in the capital, Islamabad, the press club was not spared from such forms of violence. On October 2, police violently raided the National Press Club and assaulted journalists at the press club premises.

In 2025, PPF investigated at least eight instances of murder. However, upon investigation, the motive for six of the murders was found not to be in connection with the media professional’s work. Two murders — Abdul Latif Baloch and Imtiaz Mir — remain inconclusive, requiring further clarity on the motives behind them.

As a nation, Pakistan has appeared every year since 2008 on the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Global Impunity Index. In a country where those who murder and kill journalists get away scot-free, what hope can there be for accountability and action against those who attack journalists in other ways, including physical violence and issuing threats? 

While incidents of physical attacks and murders of journalists in connection to their work may have fallen in recent years, the increasing use of punitive measures to target journalists and silence the media is an alarming depiction of the lack of media safety and a free press in the country.

In 2025, at least 30 instances of criminal complaints (First Information Reports) have been registered against journalists and media professionals. Of the cases registered this year, at least 22 cases against journalists have been registered, including sections of PECA.  A section cited in many of the cases is the newly added Section 26-A, which introduced a punishment for fake or false information, yet was unclear how the intent of an individual sharing fake news would be established. 

PPF has documented at least eight arrests of journalists and media professionals in connection with their work.

In one such instance, on August 22, journalist Khalid Jamil was arrested by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). As per an FIR registered, Jamil was found sharing “highly intimidating content on social media.” 

Following Jamil’s arrest, the investigation officer in his case had requested physical remand for six days. A written order issued by Judicial Magistrate West in Islamabad stated that the remarks quoted in the FIR didn’t fall “within any ambit of propagation or derogation.” It noted that every citizen is guaranteed the right to free speech under the Constitution.

“There is no incriminating material against the above named accused person,” the order read, turning down the request for physical remand, discharging Jamil from the case, and ordering his release.

In another development just this month, it was reported that an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad would indict senior journalist Matiullah Jan on October 31 in a case involving allegations of drug possession and terrorism from 2024. During proceedings on October 31, an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad issued a notice to the police regarding the provision of case documents.

It is worth reiterating that actual acts of physical violence, legal action and assault are often preceded by or supplemented by the issuance of threats and other forms of intimidation of media professionals. 

During 2025, PPF has documented at least 19 incidents of intimidation of journalists and media professionals. 

Digital threats include threats to women in the media which this year included instances of threats to senior female journalist Asma Shirazi and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) co-chair and anchorperson at Aaj TV, Munizae Jahangir. This year on International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, UNESCO is focusing on raising awareness of AI-facilitated gender-based violence against women journalists. In past years, Pakistan has seen instances where women in the media had images and videos morphed and shared online. It is through such cases that the nature of attacks online on women journalists was found to take on a personal nature based on their character assassination. The threat of such attacks is only escalated with the increased adoption of AI. With the use of AI to generate images almost seamlessly, this trend of perpetuation of the harassment of women in the media may see an uptick in the near future.

UNESCO has called for “renewed action from all stakeholders to tackle these threats through the implementation of safety mechanisms, policy reform, dialogue and platform accountability, ensuring safer and more equitable online and offline environments for women journalists worldwide.” PPF reiterates this call.

In September, the National Assembly passed a resolution condemning the alleged verbal abuse of senior journalist Ijaz Ahmed by Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. The incident reportedly occurred during a court hearing at Adiala Jail. According to Ahmed, Khan used abusive language when he posed a question during an interaction at the jail. The journalist also faced threats online.

In a bizarre and concerning development, harassment of the media also took the form of a federal government advertisement. An advertisement issued by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, published on October 1 and 2, posed the question: “Have you ever wondered what war looks like today?” The ad stated that the enemy’s bullets were no longer gunpowder; it was now information.

In the subtext, it went on to state that anti-state forces were at our doorsteps and the enemy was hiding behind the veil of technology. The ad then stated: “Sometimes disguised as a reporter, sometimes as an NGO worker or a freelancer that extracts sensitive information out of them […]”

This was a direct attack on journalists and NGOs as potential enemies and even brought doubt on the fundamental work that journalists do, i.e., providing information. It is such steps that sow the seeds for distrust in the media and perpetuate cycles of violence and threats to media professionals. It is worth reminding the Information Ministry that the right to information is a Constitutional right guaranteed to all citizens of Pakistan under Article 19-A. To label information as the “enemy’s bullet” is undermining a basic right of all citizens of this country. 

In an alarming development, which also showcased the intimidation of journalists, multiple journalists reported that their bank accounts had been frozen. At least two journalists were found to be placed on the No-Fly List in 2025. 

Meanwhile censorship of an already tamed media has continued. 

In a sweeping action, an Islamabad court ordered the blocking of 27 YouTube channels, operated by journalists, commentators, and political voices on allegations of spreading “provocative and derogatory contents against state institutions and officials of state of Pakistan.”  This order has been subsequently suspended for the channels in different proceedings.

Multiple incidents of suspension of mobile data/internet services have also been documented in 2025, however, comparatively much less than in 2024. In a positive development, the authorities reversed course on the blocking of X, formerly Twitter, that had been in place since February 2024. In May of this year, access to X was finally restored. 

Meanwhile, an alarming report by Amnesty International, in September, highlighted the surveillance capabilities of Pakistani authorities. 

To work towards developing a country where media safety is protected rather than attacked and the right to free expression is upheld, a stakeholder-wide approach to understanding and truly valuing the role of the media is required. Political leadership must move beyond lip service in support of the media and demonstrate this through their own conduct as well as party policies when in power and in the legislation they support and pass. 

Instead of bulldozing legislation such as this year, the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Amendment Act 2025, which raised alarm bells amongst journalists, the media and civil society for its potential misuse, the government and lawmakers should adopt a more proactive approach and engage with stakeholders ahead of such laws being passed.

Pakistan has the systems in place to support the protection of journalists and media professionals. Rather than remaining on paper, the media safety laws must be effectively implemented through their mandated commissions, with the progress of cases of attacks on journalists being monitored. Other provinces, aside from Sindh, must also work towards drafting and passing their media safety legislation. The federal media safety law and provincial level Sindh media safety law must also be actively implemented to change the current dismal track record for journalists’ safety.

Pakistan must not forget that the right to free expression is a right guaranteed in the Constitution. It is a right that the country has an obligation to fulfill under its international commitments, including the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Periodic Review. A commitment to implementing best practices under the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity is built into the Protection of Journalists and Other Media Professionals Act 2021, and thus must be followed.

Read the full report on here:  http://pakistanpressfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Impunity-Day-Report-2025.pdf