Pakistan Starts Sweeping New Crackdown on Journalists
New York Times
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New York Times
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Pakistan has launched sweeping new restrictions on foreign journalists, requiring them to seek government permission to travel outside the country's three major cities. The crackdown follows a surge of unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where protesters have been demanding greater political autonomy.
Pakistan Starts Sweeping New Crackdown on Journalists - The New York Times
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Pakistan Starts Sweeping New Crackdown on Journalists
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/world/asia/pakistan-international-news-media-ban.html
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Pakistan Starts Sweeping New Crackdown on Journalists
With a protest movement in Kashmir challenging its authority in the region, Pakistan restricts independent reporting by local and foreign media.
Listen · 5:11 min
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!Three people ride a motorcycle on a wet road. Behind them is a store with green signs and political posters.
*Political campaign posters last month in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Credit...
Asim Hafeez for The New York Times*
By
Elian Peltier
Elian Peltier is based in Islamabad, as the bureau chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Published Aug. 5, 2026
Updated Aug. 6, 2026, 1:12 a.m. ET
See more of our coverage in your search results. Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on Google Agrega The New York Times en Google
Pakistan has begun a sweeping new crackdown on reporters that rights groups and local journalists say will close off one of the last remaining ways to get independent journalism about the world’s fifth-most-populous country.
The government imposed new restrictions that require all journalists working for foreign media outlets to seek permission to travel outside Pakistan’s three major cities. The rules come after a surge of media covering elections in the Pakistan-administered part Kashmir, a disputed region where protesters have been campaigning since early June for more political autonomy.
“The requirement that journalists obtain state approval to report from large parts of the country sends a chilling message: that critical reporting is unwelcome,” Pakistan’s leading human rights organization said in a statement.
Pakistani journalists covering the unrest in Kashmir are facing especially intense pressure.
Two independent Pakistani journalists working in the part of Kashmir that Pakistan controls were detained on Aug. 1 and taken to an undisclosed location, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based nonprofit. Severalother journalists who work for Pakistani news organizations said they have been summoned to court for their reporting on the region under a law criminalizing “false and fake information.”
On Sunday, the government criticized the reporting of a Pakistani journalist working for Al Jazeera, who was covering the provincial elections in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. (India rules the other part of the region.) Pakistan also ordered all journalists working for foreign outlets to leave the territory immediately.
Image
!Two large bonfires burn brightly on a dirt road. Several people stand or walk near the fires.
*Supporters of Joint Awami Action Committee, an alliance of civil society groups, set fire to block a road during a protest last month in Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Credit...
Reuters*
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Thursday, August 6, 2026
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Asia Pacific
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Pakistan Starts Sweeping New Crackdown on Journalists
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/world/asia/pakistan-international-news-media-ban.html
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Advertisement
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Supported by
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Pakistan Starts Sweeping New Crackdown on Journalists
With a protest movement in Kashmir challenging its authority in the region, Pakistan restricts independent reporting by local and foreign media.
Listen · 5:11 min
*
*
*
!Three people ride a motorcycle on a wet road. Behind them is a store with green signs and political posters.
*Political campaign posters last month in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Credit...
Asim Hafeez for The New York Times*
By
Elian Peltier
Elian Peltier is based in Islamabad, as the bureau chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Published Aug. 5, 2026
Updated Aug. 6, 2026, 1:12 a.m. ET
See more of our coverage in your search results. Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on Google Agrega The New York Times en Google
Pakistan has begun a sweeping new crackdown on reporters that rights groups and local journalists say will close off one of the last remaining ways to get independent journalism about the world’s fifth-most-populous country.
The government imposed new restrictions that require all journalists working for foreign media outlets to seek permission to travel outside Pakistan’s three major cities. The rules come after a surge of media covering elections in the Pakistan-administered part Kashmir, a disputed region where protesters have been campaigning since early June for more political autonomy.
“The requirement that journalists obtain state approval to report from large parts of the country sends a chilling message: that critical reporting is unwelcome,” Pakistan’s leading human rights organization said in a statement.
Pakistani journalists covering the unrest in Kashmir are facing especially intense pressure.
Two independent Pakistani journalists working in the part of Kashmir that Pakistan controls were detained on Aug. 1 and taken to an undisclosed location, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based nonprofit. Severalother journalists who work for Pakistani news organizations said they have been summoned to court for their reporting on the region under a law criminalizing “false and fake information.”
On Sunday, the government criticized the reporting of a Pakistani journalist working for Al Jazeera, who was covering the provincial elections in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. (India rules the other part of the region.) Pakistan also ordered all journalists working for foreign outlets to leave the territory immediately.
Image
!Two large bonfires burn brightly on a dirt road. Several people stand or walk near the fires.
*Supporters of Joint Awami Action Committee, an alliance of civil society groups, set fire to block a road during a protest last month in Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Credit...
Reuters*
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Tags:#باكستان#حرية الصحافة#الصحفيون#كشمير#قمع إعلامي#حقوق الإنسان
Source: New York Times
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