Pakistan has imposed strict new rules on international media, requiring journalists to obtain government permission before reporting outside Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. The Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines 2026, issued Tuesday, apply to both foreign and Pakistani journalists working for international outlets and mandate accreditation that can be revoked for coverage deemed to act against the country's ideology, sovereignty, security, or public order.
The restrictions follow a crackdown in Pakistan-administered Kashmir where local estimates put the death toll at over 50 after protests organised by the Joint Awami Action Committee over reserved legislative seats. The government banned the committee under anti-terrorism laws and ordered all journalists to leave the region. Authorities criticised Al Jazeera and the BBC for their coverage, with officials calling it biased.
Pakistan ranks 153 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index. Nasir Zaidi, former general secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, criticised the new guidelines.