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🇸🇬 Singapore /Culture & Society

Pakistan broadens foreign media curbs to local staff, drawing backlash

From The Straits Times · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Pakistan has tightened restrictions on foreign media, now requiring Pakistani nationals working for them to obtain government permission for travel and reporting outside major cities.
  • The move has drawn criticism from human rights groups and international media organizations, who fear it curtails press freedom and encourages self-censorship.
  • Officials have not stated the reason for the new rules, which come amid protests and widening insurgencies in the country's western provinces.

Pakistan has significantly broadened its restrictions on foreign media operations, extending controls for the first time to Pakistani nationals working for these outlets. Previously, only foreign journalists faced routine movement controls outside Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. The new guidelines, circulated widely on Sunday, mandate that Pakistani journalists, fixers, and other staff must obtain government permission to travel and report beyond these three major cities.

an alarming step

— Patricia GossmanHuman Rights Watch representative describing the new curbs on foreign media.

The government has not provided a specific reason for the intensified restrictions. However, they coincide with ongoing protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and escalating insurgencies in the country's western provinces. These new measures affect all foreign media organizations operating within Pakistan.

narrowing space for press freedom

— Patricia GossmanHuman Rights Watch representative describing the impact of the new curbs.

Human rights advocates and international news organizations have voiced strong concerns. Patricia Gossman of Human Rights Watch described the curbs as "an alarming step" that threatens independent reporting and fosters self-censorship, urging their immediate reversal. The Financial Times stated it "supports the ability of journalists to report freely and independently," while the BBC expressed "extreme concern" and called for the restrictions to be rescinded. Pakistan's Ministry of Information and its military did not respond to requests for comment.

immediately reversed

— Patricia GossmanHuman Rights Watch representative calling for the new curbs to be withdrawn.

A government official, speaking anonymously, suggested the restrictions were not intended to hinder criticism or legitimate investigative journalism. However, the timing and scope of the new rules, coupled with a separate government order for outlets without reporting permission to leave Pakistan-administered Kashmir, have intensified worries about the shrinking space for press freedom in the country.

supports the ability of journalists to report freely and independently.

— The Financial TimesThe newspaper's stance on the new restrictions in Pakistan.
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Originally published by The Straits Times. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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