Intimidation on All Fronts: Press Freedom and Media Safety in Pakistan
World Press Freedom Day 2025
Executive Summary
In 2025, journalists and media professionals in Pakistan find themselves amid an ever-tightening landscape for free expression. Legal challenges through restrictive legislation and cases, overactive regulatory authorities, continued violence against journalists with impunity, and threats to media professionals — the media is working in an environment of intimidation from all fronts.
This year began with the passage of the much-opposed Pakistan Electronic Crimes Amendment Act 2025 in January which heightened concerns about the legal consequences journalists may face for their reporting, particularly online. Since then, criminal complaints have been registered against media professionals under sections of the amended cybercrime law including Section 26-A which pertains to fake or false information and carries punishments of up to three years of imprisonment, fines up to Rs2million, or both.
In a media environment where broadcast media have been significantly silenced over the years through restrictive regulation and violence against media professionals, the further tightening of screws around expression online spells concern for journalists’ ability to report freely without consequences both online and offline. In what has become the norm, the lack of accountability and the role of state bodies — in 2024-25, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), in particular — has set a dangerous pattern of action against media professionals.
At the same time, forms of physical violence, including assault and manhandling as well as arrests, detentions, and the issuance of threats to journalists, continued to undermine the safety of media professionals and served as tools to intimidate the media alongside other punitive measures, including the suspension of advertising to media outlets.
In 2025, the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has so far (January – April) documented at least 34 cases including seven instances of case registration, one defamation notice, three instances of call-up notices by the FIA, two arrests, four detentions, two abductions, at least six instances of assault and two of manhandling, two attacks on property including a raid, three instances of threats including a threat of legal action and threats to family, and two of online harassment.
The arrests of two journalists —Raftar CEO Farhan Mallick and Islamabad-based journalist Waheed Murad — in March, exemplified the heavy-handed approach of the FIA. In the case of Mallick, the FIA visited the Raftar office without notice, and following his appearance at an FIA office in response to a verbal summon, he was arrested.
Just days after Mallick’s arrest, Islamabad-based journalist, associated with Urdu News, Waheed Murad, was picked up from his home and had a criminal complaint registered against him by the FIA.
In addition to these, punitive measures including restrictions on advertising to certain media outlets have also been documented. The suspension of advertisements to Dawn, the leading English newspaper, who issued a public response defending its editorial policy, and the Ministry of Information’s stoppage of advertisements to Daily Sahafat, highlight the underhanded methods used to financially cripple media outlets.
The precedent for the alarming patterns observed this year appeared to have been set in 2024, an election year that was a mix of political protests, internet shutdowns, and policies and legislation (proposed and passed) that would increase the policing of free expression, particularly online.
Between January and December 2024, PPF documented at least 168 confirmed attacks on journalists and media professionals in connection to the work and attempts of censorship to regulate and restrict free expression either through punitive measures or regulation including two murders, 76 instances of assault, four instances of abduction, 12 attacks on property, five arrests, 12 detentions, 15 instances of case registration, eight documented instances of FIA action and two of other legal action, two instances of placement on the Exit Control List, 15 instances of online harassment, five threats, 31 instances of censorship including: 19 instances of Internet, mobile connectivity and social media platform disruptions including the ban on X, four restrictive directives by PEMRA, and eight other directives, orders or actions tantamount to censorship; and remarks by the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkwa province targeting journalists.
In 2024, the sheer frequency of internet, mobile connectivity, and social media platform disruptions are of grave concern. At a time when the significance of digital spaces is growing, such measures cut off citizens’ right to access information. As we continue with this year, the alarming patterns of censorship appear to once again be impacting journalists and media outlets in Pakistan. Following the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, the Indian goverment has blocked access to 16 Pakistani YouTube channels on the recommendations of its Ministry of Home Affairs.
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, PPF draws attention to the alarming patterns of intimidation being documented through legislation, legal cases, violence, and threats.
- PPF urges the state to view the media as an essential stakeholder while developing policies and laws that impact their work, so that dangerous legislation, such as PECA, the impact of which is unfolding, is not brought to fruition. Considering the impact on the media should not be an afterthought. Despite loud and clear calls of concern, the government has decided to ignore the opposition to the amendments to PECA. Such patterns raise questions about the government’s intentions.
- PPF reiterates the urgent need to challenge the complete impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of violence against the media through the active implementation of media safety legislation, passed in the country, specifically for the protection of media professionals. It is completely unacceptable that journalists continue to be targeted for their work. Despite the passage of the federal Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021, and the provincial Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act 2021, journalists continue to face violence with dismal accountability for perpetrators.
- PPF is concerned by the lack of accountability and clarity in actions taken by state bodies such as the FIA, with details often being revealed in the aftermath of an incident. Such actions help maintain an environment of fear and uncertainty amongst the media, even beyond the individual journalists impacted. We urge authorities to ensure that media professionals are not targeted for their work and that due process is followed.
PECA Amended and Emboldened — Cases, arrests and fear
Much of the activity documented in 2024, particularly regarding cases against media professionals and legislation surrounding PECA, carried forward into 2025.
On January 23, the National Assembly passed the PECA amendment bill, followed by the Senate on January 28. On January 29, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the bill into law. The passage of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act 2025 without stakeholder consultation, a lack of clarity on the law and the bodies formed under it, as well as vague terminology, raised alarm bells for journalists and media bodies. The lack of consultations and clarity of the amendments ahead of the law’s passage brought up concerns about the intent and possible application of the law.
Among the amendments, under the new version of PECA, Section 26-A introduced a punishment for fake or false information, yet it was unclear, how the intent of an individual sharing fake news would be established.
The amendment was challenged in the Supreme Court, the Lahore High Court, the Sindh High Court, the Peshawar High Court, and the Islamabad High Court, with it being described as an infringement upon freedom of expression and its vague definitions being open to misuse.
While PECA has been law since 2016, this amendment has further empowered a clampdown on journalists and media professionals, among other citizens, in their expression online.
The media fraternity and civil society strongly opposed the law for the lack of stakeholder consultation, its vague phrasing, and its potential impact on journalists. Despite vocal opposition, the law was passed and came into effect, and in the months that have followed, the use of PECA in cases against media professionals has been documented. While the use of PECA in cases that have involved journalists is not a new development following the amendment, the concern of its potential misuse and targeted use has grown with the latest amendment that has further emboldened the law.
A section cited in many of the cases is Section 26-A. The amended law states under Section 26-A, that anyone who intentionally disseminates, publicly exhibits, or transmits any information through any information system, which they know or have reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to create a sense of fear, panic, disorder, or unrest in the general public or society, can face imprisonment upto three years, fines up to Rs2million or both.
On March 20, Farhan Mallick, the Chief Executive Officer of the digital media platform Raftar, was arrested in Karachi by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The criminal complaint (First Information Report) against Mallick was registered by the FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Center Karachi under Sections 16, 20, and 26-A of the PECA 2025.
As per the FIR, an inquiry was registered, and a report was received regarding Raftar’s YouTube channel. The FIR alleged that the channel was “involved in running [a] campaign for posting anti-state videos targeting the dignitaries mentioned in violation on YouTube channel.” Mallick was stated as the “handler” of the channel.
A second FIR, dated March 25, was registered at the FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Center in Karachi on the complaint of an individual named Asad Ali. It stated that some individuals were involved in the theft of confidential financial data of credit cards of foreign nationals through spoofed calls and impersonation. As per the FIR, the alleged individuals disclosed that they were acting on the patronage of Farhan Mallick. On April 7, Mallick was released from Malir Jail after he was granted bail in both cases.
Just days after Mallick’s arrest, Islamabad-based journalist, associated with Urdu News, Waheed Murad, was picked up from his home and had a criminal complaint registered against him by the FIA under Sections 9, 10, 20, and 26-A of PECA, 2016. The FIR stated that Murad was found sharing “highly intimidating content/post on social media/Facebook and X Corp.” Murad was released after being granted post-arrest bail by an Islamabad district and sessions court.
Meanwhile, Hazara Express News Chief Executive Officer Sher Afzal Gujjar faced threats of legal action under the PECA following his media outlet’s coverage of a press conference on February 24. However, police had shared that no case would be registered.
Investigative journalist Ahmed Noorani was among three individuals against whom the FIA Cyber Crime Wing in Islamabad had registered an FIR for allegedly spreading fake news about the Jaffar Express train attack. The case was registered under Sections 9, 10, and 26-A of PECA 2016.
Another commonly cited section of PECA is Section 20, which pertains to offenses against the dignity of a natural person.
On March 28, Abdul Khaliq Chohan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of a local Urdu Newspaper, Hamara Samaj, was named in an FIR for publishing a story in which he had accused the Khairpur Senior Superintendent of Police of corruption. The case was registered under Section 20 of PECA and other sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.
On March 15, Zahid Sharif, a Dhoom News reporter and digital journalist from Punjab, was named in two FIRs involving allegations, including defamation, harassment, and rape, after posting interviews with women alleging police misconduct.
An Overactive FIA
The PECA amendment confirmed plans for establishing the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and granted its director general the powers of an inspector general of police (IGP). In April 2024, the federal government announced the formation of the NCCIA, set to replace the FIA Cyber Crime Wing. In October, the rules of the NCCIA were repealed, and the NCCIA was disbanded. Under the PECA amendment, it was back.
Ahead of the NCCIA’s establishment, the FIA has been seen active in the registration of cases, issuance of notices, and arrests of journalists.
In the case of Farhan Mallick’s arrest, the day prior, FIA officials had visited the Raftar office “without prior notice,” harassed the team, and “verbally summoned” Mallick to their office for a hearing on March 20 at 1 pm. When Mallick appeared before the FIA, and after being made to wait for hours, he was arrested at 6 pm.
Seperately, in March, Swabi Press Club Vice President Mohammad Ayub Khan, also a reporter for Hum News, received a notice from the FIA Cybercrime Wing in Peshawar regarding an alleged offensive social media post. Also in March, the Islamabad High Court stopped the FIA from legal action against Sohrab Barkat, a social media activist and reporter affiliated with Siyasat.pk.
The tone for FIA’s activity involving media professionals was set in 2024.
At the end of last year, FIA had reportedly registered cases against 150 individuals, including journalists and vloggers, for “allegedly promoting a false narrative against state institutions, particularly the security agencies, over the November 26 crackdown on PTI supporters in Islamabad.” Meanwhile, at the very start of 2024, the FIA issued notices to several dozen media professionals for allegedly participating in a campaign against the judiciary. In connection with this, journalist and YouTuber Asad Ali Toor was arrested and later released on bail. Notices were also issued to Farhan Mallick, YouTuber Arzoo Kazmi, and Siyasat.pk owner Adeel Habib.
Physical Violence Persists — Assault, Manhandling, Detentions and Abductions
In 2025, eight instances of attacks on journalists, including assault and manhandling, have been documented so far.
This has included, in January: on January 6, Mehran TV reporter Naveed Panhwar and Dharti TV reporter Irfan Baloch were assaulted by police while covering a fight at a restaurant in Kotri, on January 6, a mob attack on the team of ARY News show Sar e Aam when they were conducting a sting operation in Karachi’s Lyari area, and on January 13, Bol News cameraman Amjad Shah was assaulted by workers of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) while covering a press conference by Moulana Fazl Ur Rehman in Karachi. On February 23, Shahkar Atmankhel, a freelancer based in Utman Khel tehsil of Bajaur district, was assaulted by supporters of Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Ajmal Khan and former Member of National Assembly (MNA) Gul Dad Khan. The incident occurred as Atmankhel attempted to inquire about local development projects. In Faisalabad on March 20, 7 News Bureau Chief Mian Munawar Iqbal was manhandled by four unidentified armed individuals allegedly in retaliation for his investigative reporting, on March 26, Irfan Laghari, a reporter for 92 News, was assaulted in Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by unidentified individuals after posting about alleged corruption involving the sale of the Siraiki Belt development scheme, and on March 30, Ajmair Shinwari, a reporter for Aaj News from Landikotal, was misbehaved with by police constables of Landikotal Police Station as he was conducting coverage of a district administrator’s survey on prices in a market.
Four detentions of journalists and media professionals have also been documented. On February 1, Daily Sahafat cameraperson Zaheer Abbas and Daily Hakoomat cameraperson Tanveer Sindhu were detained in police custody while covering an exhibition at the Expo Center in Lahore, Punjab. Despite showing their press cards, their mobiles and cameras were seized, and they were detained for hours. On March 5, Rohi TV reporter Mehmood Zaheer and cameraperson Shah Saqlain were detained in Bahawalpur, Punjab.
In April, journalist Inamullah Mehsud was abducted from Tank in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and released through a settlement mediated by a jirga (a council of local tribal elders). On April 22, Daily Ausaf journalist Arshad Malik went missing. Members of the Multan Union of Journalists (MUJ) and other journalist associations have been staging protests outside the Multan Press Club. Mehr Aziz, the resident editor of Daily Ausaf in Multan, told PPF that Malik had returned home on April 28.
In 2024, the murders of two journalists — Bachal Ghunio and Khalil Jibran — were found to be directly in connection to their work. In an election year, multiple waves of protests, predominantly by the opposition party, the Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI), took place during which journalists became the target of violence both by law enforcement, and political party workers and supporters even when they indicated they were from the media. During protests held by PTI, in late September and early October as well as in November, several journalists and media houses were attacked, assaulted and detained by police and attacked by protestors.
During 2024, PPF documented at least 12 incidents of attacks on property which included at least six were attacks on the property of press clubs. These attacks and interference appear to have impacted press clubs in each province of the country. Certain directives issues to press clubs such as the Quetta Press Club have also restricted their ability to function freely without interference. In April 2025, the Balochistan High Court suspended the directive issued by the deputy commissioner restricting the QPC from allowing any political party or organization to hold a press conference or seminar without prior approval or permission of district administration.
This year has also seen attacks on the property of media houses or press clubs. On March 1, police forcibly entered the QPC premises and detained candidates who had gone inside the press club for a press conference to protest delays in their appointment letters after appearing in recruitment tests for jobs in the Balochistan Education Department. Separately, following the arrest of Raftar CEO Farhan Mallick, the media outlet said that on March 24, FIA officials had raided their office. “Without explanation, they seized Mr.Mallick’s work computer and confiscated every USB drive in the office,” read a post shared on Raftar’s X account.
In another alarming development impacting media outlets, the federal, Punjab, and Sindh governments stopped providing advertisements to Dawn, Pakistan’s leading English newspaper. In an editorial, Dawn reacted to the suspension of ads, stating: “The current regime’s attempt to punish the paper has taken a different form, but its aim is the same: to apply pressure tactics to gain compliance. This publication always takes into consideration multiple angles when making editorial decisions. Others may not always agree with its stance, but pressure tactics will not force Dawn to abandon principled journalism. Its duty, first and foremost, is to maintain journalistic integrity.” The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) has also called on the Ministry of Information to lift the advertisement stoppage on Daily Sahafat.
Threats and Online Harassment
In addition to violence, journalists and media professionals have also been subjected to threats of violence, including harassment in digital spaces. These threats have extended to intimidation of journalists’ family members. In 2024, 15 instances of online harassment and five instances of threats were documented by PPF. In 2025, three instances of threats and two instances of online harassment have been documented.
On March 19, two brothers of investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani went missing. Noorani’s mother, Ameena Bashir, filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking the recovery of her two sons, Saifur Rehman Haider and Muhammad Ali, who were allegedly “forcibly disappeared” from their home in Islamabad. Over a month later, the two were recovered during a police operation in the Kacha Machka area of Rahim Yar Khan district.
Harassment and targeting of journalists online have also persisted this year. In a statement issued on January 10, the Network of Women Journalists for Digital Rights (NWJDR) condemned the “ongoing relentless harassment and gendered disinformation campaign” against senior female journalist Asma Shirazi. As per the statement, the campaign was being led by “prominent political party supporters, and political commentators, and vloggers.” In February, civil society condemned threats issued to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) co-chair and anchorperson at Aaj TV, Munizae Jahangir.
Most recently, in April, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Karachi Press Club (KPC) have expressed concern over the online trolling and threats targeting prominent broadcast journalists by supporters of a religious party.
About PPF and Methodology
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) is an independent media documentation and training center, established in 1968 to promote development of independent media in Pakistan. Now over 65-years-old, this aim has shaped the direction and activities of the organization. In a country where the media has routinely been made a target of attacks and threats due to their work, PPF emerged out of the need to strengthen both the media’s capability to withstand repression, intimidation and to have an effective monitoring mechanism for media freedoms and media safety in the country. PPF is committed to raising the country’s journalism standard through training programs and tailored journalism production fellowships focusing on investigative reporting. PPF’s investigative journalism fellowship program was a trendsetter for fellowship programs for the media in Pakistan. PPF has long-standing relationships with local, national, and international media organizations.
The documentation of attacks on journalists and media professionals and restrictions to free expression involve research, investigation including directly speaking to sources as well as research of secondary sources. Cases are documented and followed up on to determine the status of an incident, identify any updates and assess whether an incident was due to a journalists’ work or free expression. The numbers may change over the course of further follow up.
Journalists and media professionals requiring guidance under the Federal and Sindh media safety law in instance of attacks can contact PPF’s Media Safety Laws Help Desk at 0332-883-4088.
