Amid PoJK unrest, Pakistan’s new guidelines for press expose journalists to administrative retaliation: Report

Islamabad, Aug 9 (IANS) Amid the unrest in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), the Pakistani authorities have implemented new guidelines for the press aimed at restricting media freedom and exposing journalists to administrative retaliation, and seemingly designed to silence dissent so that the issues raised by the people of the area do not reach the outside world, as per a report.

For the past few months, reports about deaths, arrests, detentions, intimidation, torture, and Pakistani authorities’ use of indiscriminate force on protesters have emerged from PoJK. The elections, which were initially scheduled to be conducted in a single phase, were divided into three phases due to the ongoing unrest in PoJK. Voter turnout was very low on polling day, and reports also emerged of alleged election rigging in PoJK, according to an opinion piece in The Global Kashmir.

International media outlet Al Jazeera reported on the protests, unrest and election day violence. As the reports came out in public, Pakistan issued a statement, where it slammed Al Jazeera for what it termed selective reporting and accused the broadcaster of engaging in “yellow journalism” and even imposed a ban on it in Pakistan. After facing criticism globally, Pakistan felt the need to hide the foul smell of its dirty work in PoJK and introduced “Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines 2026”, the piece by Syed Fukran said.

Under the new guidelines, international and Pakistani journalists who contribute to foreign media outlets, including social media and internet-based platforms, need to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Pakistan’s Information Ministry for official assignments, particularly for working outside Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. Pakistani authorities can suspend or revoke accreditation of journalists or media outlets for acts that it considers “against the ideology, sovereignty, security, or public order of Pakistan”.

Under the new guidelines, foreign journalists who travel to Abbottabad or Murree, which are close to PoJK’s border, for “leisure purposes” also need to obtain an NOC, according to an opinion piece in The Global Kashmir.

Asking why Pakistan is introducing such guidelines, the report said that this was “Simply to hide its brutality in PoJK and so that its so-called narrative of autonomy, self-rule and being the protector of Kashmiris does not get exposed in the world. It wants to silence the journalists who could reveal the actual situation that was on the ground and control the narrative before it reaches the world”.

“The new guidelines are aimed at restricting press freedom, exposing journalists to administrative retaliation, and creating an environment of fear around independent reporting. At their core, they appear designed to silence dissent so that the cries of PoJK do not reach the outside world. This is an opportunity for international organisations to intervene and prevent Pakistan from strangling journalism and impartial reporting. Such restrictions risk creating an information blackout that could allow further abuses in PoJK to go unnoticed, while making it harder for people to demand their basic rights and hold those in power accountable,” the author wrote.

Leading international press freedom group the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Pakistani authorities to withdraw the country’s new Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines 2026, describing the rules as “draconian” and warning that it is likely to censor coverage of unrest in PoJK.

Criticising the measures, Waliullah Rahmani, CPJ Afghanistan and Pakistan Representative, said: “The Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines open the door for Pakistani authorities to further restrict international media coverage, prevent journalists from reporting freely outside Pakistan’s three main cities, and risk exposing them to administrative retaliation.”

He said that these guidelines mark yet another “appalling blow to press freedom in Pakistan, where journalists are already facing an intense crackdown”, particularly those reporting on unrest in PoJK.

The CPJ alleged that Pakistani authorities have banned coverage of protests demanding electoral reform in PoK, after international outlets reported on police brutality during clashes with demonstrators, and suspended mobile and internet services.

–IANS

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