Lately, the entire region of South Asia has been under the spotlight of international freedom watchdogs for their poor record of freedom of expression and squeezing the media freedom.

The 21st annual South Asia Press Freedom Report, titled Pressure & Polarisation: Powering Media Resistance in South Asia, released in May this year, recorded a “total of 257 media rights violations during the period, including the targeted killings of 13 journalists and media workers. Journalists across the region faced attacks, arrests and detention with at least 76 media professionals jailed or detained, and over 163 assaulted, intimidated and harassed, often by law enforcement.”

At the time of its publication, at least 10 journalists were behind bars, the report said.

The 2023 World Press Freedom Index ranked Pakistan 150th out of 180 nations, “reflecting dramatic deterioration in freedom of the press in recent years.” The international organisations monitoring the media freedom across the globe have reports of Pakistani journalists encountering a variety of problems, including threats of assault and harassment.

In 2023, Pakistan witnessed a sharp rise in the number of harsh steps taken by the state to stifle critical voices and to impose declared and undeclared restrictions on the media. The state had already started to put curbs on the media as soon as Imran Khan assumed power in 2018. Many journalists came under attack or were pulled off air for not aligning themselves with the state narrative/ policy. The media were asked do ‘positive reporting’ to help the government execute the agenda of what was called the ‘hybrid regime.’ Even a single tweet or a video on social media criticising the government was removed and users were pressured by the rulers.

This didn’t stop even after the PDM had ousted Khan from power through a historic no-confidence motion. In fact, anti-media tactics gained momentum at the start of 2023 as Khan reached the peak of his campaign against the PDM government for throwing him out in a ‘conspiracy’ hatched by the establishment and the US government.

The electronic media outlets, through a blunt message, were told not to air Imran Khan’s name, photo and party flag in news bulletins and programmes. The media complied with the directions while hundreds of political leaders and workers were put behind bars after silencing the media critical of state policies. Many news channels were told to align with the state policies or face bans. Some media persons left the country fearing reprisals from the state. Media owners were asked to get rid of certain hosts. Compliance also meant changing their stance.

International organisations monitoring the media freedom across the globe have reports of Pakistani journalists encountering a variety of problems, including threats of assault and harassment.

Today, it’s routine for the electronic media to receive ‘directives’ from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority asking them to refrain from airing stories that are against national interest. At the same time, the news channels may be told to give airtime to a particular event or highlight a certain issue. As a result, private news channels lose a good amount of revenue for not airing the commercials which are their only source of income.

Some journalists have now become state’s favourite. Interestingly, they are the same people who were considered anti-state during PTI’s (hybrid) regime. But those who sided with Khan are now their pet hates.

Similarly, the social media vloggers who shot to fame during PTI’s rule for their pro-Khan stance are facing restrictions. Many of them were picked up and released only after they agreed to submit to the mounting pressure from the state.

The May 9 incidents stirred the state to go the extra mile and round up PTI workers and leaders for staging protests in cantonment areas and/ or attacking the properties of the armed forces, especially the residence of Lahore’s corps commander. They were produced before the court only after they had remained in custody for weeks or months. Some leaders were freed when they agreed to change their loyalties and/ or quit politics altogether.

In its annual report, Freedom House, a US-based non-profit organisation best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, political freedom and human rights, put it this way, “Authorities routinely use internet shutdowns, platform blocking and arrests and harsh convictions to suppress unwanted online speech, both under the former Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-led government and under the Pakistan Democratic Movement, the coalition that immediately succeeded it in office. Online activists, dissidents and journalists are often subjected to harassment by supporters of the PDM coalition and the PTI, including some cases of physical assault and enforced disappearances.”

The freedoms hard-earned by the political parties, human rights organisations and media were lost to the state actors in the year 2023. It may take a long time before this space can be reclaimed, as there seems to be no end to state control.

The writer is a senior broadcast journalist. He has worked with several news channels in Pakistan