Pakistan media attacks surge 60%, report warns of worsening impunity

Pakistan has recorded an alarming rise in attacks and legal pressure on journalists over the past year, according to Freedom Network’s Annual Impunity Report 2025. The watchdog says 142 violations were documented from November 2024 to September 2025 — a jump of nearly 60% compared to the previous year — underscoring a worsening climate for free expression under the current government.

Television workers bore the brunt of the pressure, followed by print and digital journalists, with one case involving radio. The report coincides with the UN’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2, and warns that the post-election environment has become increasingly hostile across much of the country.

The study highlights an aggressive use of the legal system to constrain speech. It counts at least 36 formal cases filed against 30 journalists and media workers in the first year of the federal government — 22 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and 14 under the Pakistan Penal Code. Most PECA cases, as well as all PPC cases tracked, were in Punjab.

Geographically, Punjab and Islamabad emerged as the most dangerous places for journalists, each accounting for 28% of recorded violations. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir followed. No cases were reported from Gilgit-Baltistan during the period under review.

Freedom Network Executive Director Iqbal Khattak said the state’s expanding reliance on punitive laws is choking critical voices. He urged authorities to halt legal harassment and ensure a safe environment for independent reporting, warning that the costs of silencing media are incompatible with democratic governance.

The report calls for urgent policy and law-enforcement reforms, accountability for perpetrators, and safeguards that protect journalists both online and offline. It also urges civil society, political parties and regulators to resist measures that erode media independence and public access to information.