By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Committee to Protect Journalists and 17 other press freedom and human rights organizations urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday to take immediate steps to “uphold the country’s constitutional and international obligations” to protect journalists as the media environment in Pakistan continues to deteriorate.
In a joint letter addressed to the premier, the groups said they were writing to express “deep concern regarding the sustained deterioration of media freedom in Pakistan.” The letter was endorsed by Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Press Institute, Forum Asia, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the Freedom Network and other local and international organizations.
The organizations pointed to recent legal and institutional developments, alongside “persistent failures” to ensure accountability for attacks on journalists, as key factors contributing to a worsening environment for members of the media. “We urge your government to take immediate action to uphold Pakistan’s obligations under the Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantee freedom of expression and the press, and require the State to protect journalists from violence, intimidation, and unlawful interference,” the letter said.
Pakistan’s press freedom situation, which was “already challenging,” has deteriorated further since the adoption of the 27th Constitutional Amendment in November 2025, the letter said in an analysis. That amendment led to the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court, a development that coincided with “a weakening of judicial oversight and accountability in cases involving attacks on the media.”
Rather than strengthening protections for journalists, the letter said, “These changes have contributed to a more restrictive and uncertain environment for independent journalism.” Judicial inaction in high-profile murder cases has reinforced a pattern of impunity that continues to endanger the press, it added. After the amendment, journalists across Pakistan have faced increased “legal harassment, intimidation, surveillance, regulatory scrutiny, and threats — all of which had had a chilling effect on press freedom,” the letter said. At the same time, the persistent failure of authorities to ensure accountability for crimes against journalists has reinforced that pattern of impunity and placed media workers at “serious risk.”
The groups raised particular concern about the detention of journalist Sohrab Barkat under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and demanded his “immediate and unconditional” release. They urged the government to ensure that laws are not used to criminalize journalism and to guarantee that media organizations can operate without intimidation or administrative pressure.
The letter also pointed to the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision to dispose of suo motu proceedings in the case of journalist Arshad Sharif, who was shot dead in Kenya in 2022. “Despite the seriousness of the case and its global significance for journalist safety, justice remains incomplete,” it said. The organizations called on the government to reopen a transparent investigation into his death through an independent judicial commission.
They further pressed authorities to investigate threats and halt intimidation against journalist Nadir Abbas Baloch. “Ensuring accountability in cases of intimidation is essential to prevent an escalation in harmful behaviour towards journalists nationwide,” the letter said. The appeal raised the alarm over what it described as the “expansion of restrictions on press freedom beyond national borders.” It called on the government to “halt judicial action against foreign-based journalists for their reporting or commentary, review relevant laws to ensure alignment with international standards on freedom of expression, and reaffirm that journalism and criticism of public institutions are protected.”
A central demand was for the government to urgently “repeal or substantially” amend the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, including the 2025 amendments. “Peca’s vague provisions enable arbitrary first information reports, arrests, and prosecutions of journalists, independent media, and digital platforms for legitimate reporting on state institutions, creating a chilling effect on free expression,” the letter said. “These abuses violate international freedom of expression standards and must be reformed to safeguard journalists’ constitutional rights and the public’s right to information.”
The letter also drew attention to the situation of Afghan journalists living in exile in Pakistan amid a “recent surge in the detentions and deportations.” Deportation could expose them to serious retaliation, arbitrary detention, violence or death, the groups warned. “We urge the government to immediately halt deportations of journalists and media workers at risk and uphold the principle of non-refoulement for individuals facing credible threats due to their journalistic work,” the letter said.
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