Pakistan’s government has stepped up the use of in absentia convictions and arrest warrants against Pakistani journalists living overseas since late 2025, highlighting an escalating crackdown by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government on critical reporting and commentary that extends beyond domestic borders.
In early January, four foreign-based Pakistani journalists and commentators were convicted on the same day in connection with coverage of violent protests that roiled Pakistan in May 2023, following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a corruption case. The government accuses Khan — who is in prison on several charges that he says are politically motivated — and his allies of inciting the protests, during which demonstrators attacked military and government buildings.
Authorities also issued an arrest warrant for an exiled journalist in early December, alleging he had spread propaganda about Pakistan’s army.
On December 1, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi pledged a massive crackdown on social media users, YouTubers, and journalists spreading “fake news,” and warned those living overseas that, “We will soon bring you back, and you will be answerable.”
Pakistan’s repression of journalists has now reached a global scale, leaving journalists unsafe and unable to report freely or even express their views on events back home,” said CPJ’s Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi. “We call on the Pakistani government and military to cease targeting journalists and their families, and restore press freedom inside the country.”
CPJ has documented the following cases in which the Pakistani government has sought to criminalize journalists living abroad, based on interviews with affected journalists, court files reviewed by CPJ, and news reports.
