Press freedom in freefall as Pakistan's media faces unprecedented crackdown

Karachi [Pakistan] January 1 (ANI): Pakistan's media landscape worsened in 2025, with journalists and media organisations facing escalating pressure, censorship and punitive state actions, according to a new report by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE). The findings, detailed in the Media Freedom Report 2025, highlight what the council described as one of the most restrictive periods for journalism in the country's recent history, as reported by Dawn.
According to Dawn, the report stated that throughout the year, journalists were subjected to arrests, intimidation, legal harassment and economic coercion, creating an atmosphere of fear and self-censorship. According to the CPNE, authorities increasingly relied on indirect but effective tools such as freezing bank accounts, cancelling national identity cards, placing individuals on the Exit Control List (ECL) and suspending government advertising to silence dissenting voices. These measures have had a chilling effect on independent reporting across Pakistan.
The CPNE expressed grave concern over the growing uniformity in print and electronic media content, warning that editorial independence has been severely compromised. Reflecting this decline, Pakistan slipped six places in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, ranking 158th globally compared to 152nd the previous year. The watchdog attributed the fall to tighter state controls, misuse of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), and systematic pressure on media houses.
According to the report, several major media organisations were forced to downsize or shut down operations altogether as financial pressure mounted. Newsrooms across the country were hollowed out, with dozens of journalists losing their jobs or being forced off air. Well-known television anchors, including Kashif Abbasi, Habib Akram, Paras Jahanzaib, Samina Pasha, Sami Ibrahim, Arif Hameed Bhatti and Khalid Jamil, were either taken off air or compelled to resign. The CPNE also highlighted targeted pressure on prominent media groups. The Dawn Media Group, it said, faced suspension of government advertisements across print, electronic and radio platforms, while Jang, Awaaz and Waqt groups were similarly subjected to coercive tactics, as cited by Dawn.
In total, the CPNE recorded five journalist killings, multiple arrests and legal cases, attacks on media offices and sweeping digital restrictions during 2025. The situation was particularly alarming in Balochistan, where prolonged internet shutdowns and unofficial censorship severely disrupted journalism and pushed several newspapers toward closure. The CPNE urged federal and provincial authorities to end all forms of intimidation, repeal restrictive laws and uphold constitutional guarantees of press freedom in line with democratic norms, as reported by Dawn. (ANI)