Journalists, editors, digital media practitioners, artists, academics and human rights defenders formed a national alliance in Pakistan on August 19 to counter growing restrictions on freedom of expression.

The alliance was announced during a roundtable titled “Defending Freedom of Expression in Civic Space” organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) with support from the European Union in Karachi.

The meeting was attended by Geo News Managing Director Azhar Abbas, veteran journalist Hussain Naqi, HRCP Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt and other media and rights representatives. Participants highlighted legal pressures, censorship, harassment, violence and restrictive media regulations affecting journalists and civic space.

The participants adopted a seven-point charter calling for reforms to laws restricting dissent and online speech, an end to impunity for violence against journalists, protection of editorial independence and safer working environments for women and freelance journalists.

The proposed alliance will coordinate advocacy, strategic litigation, documentation, rapid-response support and public mobilisation, bringing together journalists’ unions, press clubs, digital and freelance journalists, lawyers, artists and civil society organisations.

The charter also calls for fair wages, written contracts, insurance and safe working conditions for media workers, as well as stronger journalists’ associations capable of providing legal and emergency support. It stresses the need to protect regional voices and civic spaces across Pakistan.

The signatories urged federal and provincial governments, Parliament, political parties, courts, regulators, media owners, journalists’ bodies and civil society to adopt the charter as a shared roadmap for protecting media freedom and strengthening democratic space.