Pakistan

The report highlights that the rise of the internet has led to an increase in blasphemy prosecutions in Pakistan. The misuse of blasphemy laws has a chilling effect on freedom of expression online. Religious minorities are particularly vulnerable to blasphemy accusations.

A report from Bytes for All showed that Pakistan faced 24 network shutdowns in 2022, which is 58% higher than in 2021.

In a country where the press routinely remains under threat and faces attacks from many fronts, the media in Pakistan operated on slippery grounds in 2022 with a flurry of cases against journalists, television channel closures, charged political rhetoric enabling attacks against the media, overreach by media regulatory bodies and the killing of two journalists, including he brutal murder of one journalist on foreign soil that shook the nation.

The report tracks gaps in the judicial process for the murder of journalists in Pakistan. PPF found that of the 76 cases where journalists were killed — either in targeted killings or while on assignment — since 2002, there have been convictions in only five instances.

A new research by Media Matters for Democracy looks into the policies of the government and the experience of Pakistan in improving access to internet connection.

The space for free expression in Pakistan continues to shrink with the media facing attacks on all fronts. Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has observed an alarming trend during 2021 where not only did physical attacks against the media continue with impunity but the state level push to restrict free expression also grew.

The media in Pakistan works within an increasingly repressive environment with the attacks on press freedom coming from all fronts. While physical attacks including abductions, manhandling, arrests and in some instances killings of journalists for their work continue, as online spheres such as social media platforms are of growing importance to the work of media professionals, journalists become the subject of attacks online.

This Bytes for All report maps Pakistan’s internet landscape highlighting digital trends and their impact on socio-economic developments, as well as challenges and threats in the digital age during 2019-20.

Hate speech has long been pervasive in Pakistani society, especially directed towards individuals and groups belonging to minority faiths (and those of no faith). Those not following the majority’s Sunni faith, are given different titles and labels while several stereotypes are associated with different faiths, sects and religions, including Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis, Sikhs and Shias. However, when it comes to online spaces where more and more people are joining different social media platforms to express their views and share their opinions (or those of others whom they support), these labels, titles and stereotypes get hugely amplified, attracting widespread attention across whole communities.

This study examines the impact of the gender digital divide on women in Pakistan during the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020 Pakistani media was confronted with unique new challenges, both in terms of content to cover as well as in the nature of the measures restricting press freedom and the free flow of information in the country.

This report by Digital Rights Foundation looks into the extent of information disorder in Pakistan and the efforts of various stakeholders to combat disinformation.

Media Matters for Democracy has launched its 2018 publication assessing the challenges to media and digital freedoms in Pakistan

A quantitative research study on online gender-based harassment in Pakistan

This report will explore the laws and institutions that are in place within Pakistan to deal with issues of online violence against women.

The Cyber Harassment Helpline was launched after the successful completion of the Hamara Internet (translates as “Our Internet”) project, and based on its findings in the “Measuring Pakistani Women’s Experience of Online Violence” report

Pakistan has been slow to recognize that violence, threats and harassment faced online by journalists reflects the violence they are exposed to offline. A nationwide survey of working journalists was conducted to ascertain their level of digital insecurity, to record their experiences and the protections they desired from the journalist community, their media organizations, and the government.

Internet Landscape of Pakistan is an indigenous effort to regularly monitor and document the ongoing trends and challenges that impact digital and human rights in the country. This is the third edition in the series.

A teenager was arrested for allegedly “liking” a blasphemous post on Facebook in September 2016

The country’s powerful military pressured media outlets and journalists to disseminate positive coverage of its operations against militant Islamist groups.

Many journalists increasingly practice self-censorship, fearing retribution from security forces, military intelligence, and militant groups. Media outlets in 2016 remained under pressure to avoid reporting on or criticising human rights violations in counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.

Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.

This new report continues the documentation of the country’s internet landscape from a critical, human rights perspective.

Journalists with Pakistan’s largest private television network, Geo TV, and its affiliated outlets remained frequent targets of violence and intimidation.

Two journalists and an accountant from Online International News Network shot dead by unidentified gunmen

The Pakistani government has significantly expanded its communication interception activities. This Privacy International report covers the intelligence services plan to capture all IP-traffic in Pakistan and other initiatives, pointing to gaps in the laws governing surveillance.

Ranked 142nd in annual global media freedom report

“Education is not free of political indoctrination”

“Upgraded censorship”

“Five journalists killed in relation to their work”

Ranked 158th in annual press freedom index

“Blasphemous” YouTube remains blocked

Ranked 146th in annual global media freedom report

“Impunity in cases concerning murdered journalists remains the norm”

Evidence ties spy agency to murder of 21 journalists between 1999 and 2006

“World’s deadliest country for the press for the second consecutive year”

Taliban, religious extremists, separatist movements and political groups create a difficult environment for media freedom

“A climate of fear impedes media coverage of military and militant groups”