Ban: to what end?

Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has introduced stringent new regulations for foreign journalists and their support staff. Foreign correspondents are now required to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the ministry to travel to any city outside of Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. The application process for an NOC can take up to three working days, a significant shift from the more open environment previously experienced.

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We do not even change the cast. And Al Jazeera’s website has not opened from my desk in Karachi since last Sunday.

These new rules also mandate that fixers, freelancers, translators, and camera operators must register on a government portal. This contrasts sharply with the situation in April, when foreign correspondents were reportedly welcomed and praised Islamabad's hospitality and amenities without such bureaucratic hurdles. The shift from being "feted in April" to being "registered in August" highlights a tightening of controls on media operations.

Adding to these restrictions, access to Al Jazeera's website has been blocked from Karachi since Sunday. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated it had taken note of Al Jazeera's "selective reporting" and its alleged attempt to "misrepresent" elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, labeling the coverage as "yellow journalism" that confirmed the agenda of external actors with vested interests.

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The ministry did say was that it had taken note of Al Jazeera’s “selective reporting”, that the channel had sought to “misrepresent” the elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and that such “yellow journalism” confirmed the agenda of external actors with vested interests.

The article argues that while a government has the right to contest reporting it dislikes, restricting access to a news source subtracts from the public record and hinders the ability to verify information. The author contends that such restrictions fall on verifiable journalism, leaving unverifiable content untouched. This, in turn, allows unsubstantiated claims to persist without means of disproof, as the infrastructure for checking facts has been dismantled over time.

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A rebuttal adds to the record. A block subtracts from it, and what it subtracts is not the story. It is the ability to check the story.