Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) is troubled by the recently issued overreaching Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines, 2026, under which all journalists working with international and foreign media outlets are required to register with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting External Publicity Wing.
This guideline could have an adverse effect on press freedom and the ability of the media to report and diminish the information landscape in Pakistan. The guideline, requiring registration of all journalists residing in Pakistan, including local journalists, contributing to foreign media, could escalate the spread of disinformation and misinformation in the absence of reported and verified news from media outlets.
PPF urges the authorities to reconsider this policy and rather than restricting the space for the media to report, work towards achieving the Constitutional rights to free expression and access to information.
According to the guidelines: “All journalists residing within Pakistan, contributing to foreign media in any capacity, i.e., regular, freelancer, contributory, stringer, retainer, sponsor, fixer, assignee, attached etc. shall register themselves on the portal for their mandatory registration with EP Wing.”
The guideline states that the policy applies to Registration and Media Accreditation to be granted to the foreign media houses, organisations and outlets working in Pakistan and all eligible journalists, media owners, media professionals, sources, freelancers, sponsors, fixers, attached persons, assignees etc., of Pakistan working or contributing for them.
The guideline states: “EP Wing reserves the right to approve or reject any Accreditation application. The journalists can appeal to the Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in such cases.” This doesn’t, however, clarify if the EP Wing is required to explain the basis for rejecting a request. Additionally, while the right to appeal a rejection is provided, this process may fall beyond the reporting window of a journalist, thus leaving them unable to do their work.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the guidelines. In a statement, PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari said that the notification amounts to an attack on freedom of expression. They said that the government has not only banned foreign journalists from visiting most areas of the country but has also restricted the movement of Pakistani media persons working with international media outlets.
Karachi Press Club President Fazil Jamili termed the new guideline as “aggressive.” “Mandatory registration, strict NOCs for travel outside major cities, & vague grounds for cancellation are clear steps to suppress independent reporting,” he said.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also expressed deep concern over the guideline.
Just days before the publication of the guideline, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting took note of what it termed as Al-Jazeera’s “selective reporting from handpicked polling stations in Muzaffarabad.” Since then, Al Jazeera’s website has not been accessible in Pakistan. PPF is concerned by this approach of placing blanket bans on entire media platforms in response to their coverage.
