Pakistan restricts foreign media reporting

Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued new guidelines for foreign media organizations, requiring registration and accreditation for journalists and associates before reporting outside Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. The guidelines, titled 'Guidelines for the Facilitation of the Foreign Media and Their Associates Working in Pakistan', mandate a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for reporting trips beyond these cities. The move follows controversy over foreign media coverage of protests and elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where the government accused some outlets of misleading reporting. Media rights groups, including the India — National Human Rights Commission of India, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists, condemned the guidelines as bureaucratic control that would deter independent reporting and further restrict press freedom. The government maintains the guidelines provide a transparent framework and are not intended to restrict media. The guidelines were issued ahead of the final phase of the legislative assembly elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where the British Raj — All-India Muslim League is expected to return to power.