Over the past year, Pakistan’s media has been placed in a bind with the use of more emboldened and slick methods of restrictions, repercussions, intimidation and threats used to stifle the media. 

Today, the reality of journalism in Pakistan is dealing with overly active forms of legal challenges — from criminal complaints to summons, the continuation of violent physical attacks coupled with threats of violence, digital threats and harassment online, further amplified in an age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

Meanwhile, media outlets have faced the impact of censorship and silencing tactics including through regulatory mechanisms and in other instances through suspension of advertisements. 

Between January 2025 and April 2026, Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has documented at least 233 instances of violence, threats, legal action against journalists, two remarks targeting the media, seven instances of censorship, at least 10 instances of connectivity issues and one cyber attack impacting three broadcast channels.

These include:

• 67 instances of assault and manhandling
• 2 journalists injured while on assignment
• 3 abductions
• 7 instances of attacks or damage to property
• 11 detentions
• 11 arrests 
• 67 journalists or media professionals against whom criminal complaints were registered of which 34 had sections of PECA  [*In some cases multiple journalists were named and in other instances one journalist had multiple cases registered against them.]
• 31 instances of legal action 
• 3 threats of legal action
• 31 instances of threats and harassment including online harassment and digital threats, placement on exit control lists, attacks on family, obstruction in reporting etc.
• 2 remarks 
• 7 instances of censorship
• 1 cyber attack impacting three channels
• 10 instances of connectivity issues

On World Press Freedom Day, PPF calls on those in positions of power and authority to move away from mere lip service to actual action reflecting their support for defending the constitutionally-guaranteed rights to free expression and press freedom.

Issuing statements expressing commitment to press freedom are not enough. The patterns of violence, intimidation and reprisals faced by the media are reflective of an underlying disregard for the need to protect journalists and their right to freedom of expression. 

Stakeholders and decision makers, including, the government, law enforcement and political parties, at the local, regional and national level in Pakistan must urgently reassess their approach towards the media and recognize the role of a journalist as a provider of information and must respect the role of the media as the fourth pillar of the state. 

It is worth reminding the relevant stakeholders that Pakistan has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, under which, in Article 19, the right to freedom of expression is protected. 

Since January 2025, a staggering 67 media professionals had criminal complaints registered against them, half of which included sections of Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). In some cases multiple journalists were named in a single FIR and in other instances one journalist had multiple cases registered against them. This tally accounts for each case against each journalist or media professional.

Within the overall alarming picture for media safety and free expression in Pakistan, in 2025-26, journalists and media professionals have borne the brunt of legislation criminalizing free speech with criminal complaints being registered against media professionals under sections of an empowered cyber crime law — PECA — that was amended and bulldozed through the parliament without stakeholder consultations at the start of 2025. Additionally, call-up notices and summons by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) have become a repeat occurrence. 

Cases registered against journalists in some instances have named multiple journalists and media professionals while others have focussed on an individual journalist. 

In another instance, a harsh 17-year conviction was handed to human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her spouse, Hadi Ali Chattha, under PECA. Mazari and Chatha have represented journalists and media professionals in various cases, and, in an environment where journalists are often the target of cases and other punitive measures, including under PECA, the conviction of the two will further weaken the protections and recourse available for journalists.

The registration of criminal complaints (First Information Reports) against journalists and media professionals is reflective of an alarming trend used to target the media in recent years.

In some instances, the registration of an FIR is the only step taken. 

In other cases, these criminal complaints form the basis for the future arrest of the media professional. Between 2025-26, PPF has documented 11 arrests of journalists and media professionals.

An alarming observation that PPF has observed in some arrests is the sheer violation of the media safety laws, passed to protect journalists. The right to privacy guaranteed in this law has been completely ignored with journalists being asked to hand over their electronic devices.  

On April 24, Islamabad-based journalist Fakhar-ur-Rehman was arrested on the basis of a criminal complaint regarding posts shared on social media. The case under which Rehman was arrested named eight other journalists, media professionals and commentators. 

On April 25, the NCCIA had sought physical remand of Rehman as they stated that he had admitted to owning the social media post but had not provided the password to his mobile phone, and further examination of the phone was required. The district magistrate’s court had rejected the request for physical remand and sent Rehman to Adiala Jail on judicial remand. He was later granted bail.

While restrictions and reprisals increasingly focus on legal actions such as cases and notices, the violence against media professionals in Pakistan has also continued. PPF has documented at least 67 incidents between 2025-26 in which journalists faced assault or were manhandled while doing their work. Seven instances of attacks or damage to property and 11 detentions were also documented.

At the start of 2026, in January, an Aaj News team, including senior crime reporter Saulat Jafferi, female reporter Hamna Nisar, cameraman Adnan Shaikh, engineer Jibran Hashmi, and driver Rizwan Ahmed, was injured when their news gathering vehicle (DSNG) was attacked in Karachi during clashes between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and police ahead of a planned rally. 

In another incident, on the occasion of Aurat March, multiple journalists were detained by Islamabad Police on March 8. Journalists reporting from the scene were taken into custody and shifted to the G-7 Police Station. Additionally, other journalists who went to the police station to inquire about and clarify the situation of their detained colleagues were also held for nearly eight hours.

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. No murders of journalists in 2026, so far, were found to be in connection to their work. 

Year after year, these statistics paint a grim picture of the challenges posed to the physical safety of journalists and media professionals. These incidents however do not just affect the physical safety of individual journalists, they also undermine the safety of the media fraternity as a whole with the fear of similar attacks against others and leave a lasting impact on the psycho-social wellbeing of these individuals.

Until journalists and media professionals are not protected from violent attacks, threats of violence or reprisal due to their work, there can be no press freedom. 

PPF reiterates its long standing demands for the active implementation of the media safety laws and their mandated commissions at the federal and Sindh level so that laws passed for the very protection of journalists and media professionals can provide the media with this protection. 

The much-delayed establishment of the federal Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals (CPJMP) in November 2025 was a welcome step in the right direction; however, its creation alone is not sufficient to address the entrenched risks faced by journalists. The Commission must now be made fully functional, with clear rules, adequate resources, and the institutional independence required to operate effectively. 

In Sindh, the Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners must function effectively. Additionally, we call on the remaining provinces of the country to introduce similar media safety laws so that the unique safety challenges of journalists in their provinces can be addressed. 

Codes of conduct must be developed and, where available, enforced by political parties, especially during rallies and protests, with safe zones designated for journalists. Law enforcement including the police must also develop and where in place, follow codes of conduct  for engaging with the media. In protests, rallies and other such incidents, journalists are often targeted by both sides despite their clear identification as members of the press. This is unacceptable.

In addition to acts of violence, the threats of violence and acts of harassment — both offline and online — appear to be a common tactic used to intimidate journalists and media professionals. In 2025-26, PPF has documented 31 instances of threats and harassment including online harassment and digital threats, placement on exit control lists, attacks on family members of journalists as well as three threats of legal action and obstruction in ability to report. Two remarks also targeted the media.

Threats and harassment in digital spaces are of an increasing concern in the age of AI with its ability to morph, generate and alter content in an almost seamless manner making detection of fake content a challenge. This is of particular concern when it comes to women journalists and media professionals. 

In 2025-26, PPF has documented instances where women journalists were targeted online including where AI generated content of them was shared on social media platforms. While online harassment and threats do not just impact women journalists, they take on a personal nature focussed on character assassination when targeting women. The gendered nature of digital attacks is made evident by instances such as when the attire of a woman journalist is questioned and debated across X instead of focussing on her reporting on an important international story. 

To address the challenges faced by women in the media, different stakeholder groups must understand the nature of attacks faced by women journalists, develop policies to counter attacks and ensure that women themselves have buy-in in the process.

The Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act, 2021, states that threats of violence or harassment against journalists and other media practitioners will be considered as actual acts of violence or harassment. 

The impact of threats, intimidation and harassment must not be understated. A threat to a journalist warning them of repercussions for their work must be enough to take action at a stage where physical harm, the loss of life, damage to property and other consequences can still be prevented. 

There is a lack of attention paid to taking preventive, protective and prosecutorial measures for journalists’ safety. It should not take the death of a journalist to be outraged. And in the instance of a journalists’ killing, persistent and near complete impunity is enjoyed by the perpetrators of such violence. 

This year, on April 2, Larkana police announced the arrest of Irfan Zehri Brohi, a suspect in the murder case of journalist Zakir Ali – also known as Shan Dahar – Bureau Chief of Abb Takk Television channel in Larkana district of Sindh. Dahar was killed twelve years ago in 2014. However, Dahar’s sister, Fauzia Dahar, had expressed skepticism both about the arrest and its motives. PPF has urged authorities to ensure that this arrest does not serve as just a formality but leads to further concrete actions against those behind the murder. 

Alongside attacks on journalists and media professionals, the past year has also seen media outlets coming under pressure through the restriction of government advertisements. The most glaring example of this is the case of Dawn, Pakistan’s preeminent English language newspaper. The withholding of government advertisements to the Dawn Media Group is an alarming tool the government has decided to use to strangle the media group financially. Daily Sahafat also reportedly faced advertisement stoppage in this period. At a time of prevailing economic challenges to the media, such a tactic is a dangerous targeted tool to cut off the media outlet economically. 

In other instances, regulatory bodies such as the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), have issued directives or sent show-cause notices to television channels that reinforce existing red lines of coverage or uncover new ones. In February, PEMRA issued a show-cause notice to Geo News for what it claimed was the presentation of “biased opinion” about the proceedings of the trial involving human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari. 

Ironically, the purpose of a current affairs talk show like “Naya Pakistan with Shahzad Iqbal,” for which the show-cause notice was issued, is to discuss current affairs, including interviews with government representatives. 

When speaking of violence against the media, it is imperative to acknowledge the deadly period being faced by journalists internationally. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 262 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel and Iran since October 7, 2023. With countries like Israel targeting  and killing journalists without any repercussions or accountability, the global democratic norms of freedom of expression and press freedom are being completely disregarded. 

UNESCO has noted that freedom of expression around the world has declined by 10 per cent since 2012 and stated that World Press Freedom Day 2026 offers a “critical moment” to reaffirm freedom of expression as a “normative and empirical lever for shaping the future of information societies.” This commitment must lead to action that holds perpetrators of violence against the media to account, as, if journalists are not safe to do their work, there can be no right to freedom of expression.

Read the complete report here:  https://pakistanpressfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Report-World-Press-Freedom-Day-2026.pdf