The Rise Of Dictatorial Regimes Is Curbing Media Freedom

Muhammad Ziauddin says there is a wave of illiberal dictatorial regimes across the world and that will affect the media in Pakistan too. For the media, getting out of the storm it faces is a major challenge, he says.

2018 was a hard year for journalism in Pakistan and the trend continues in 2019. Top news anchors and journalists for example Matiullah Jan, Talat Hussain and Nusrat Javed had to leave their respective shows on Pakistan’s mainstream news channels.

The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) also expressed concerns over newspaper censorship. Moreover, according to Human Rights Commission Pakistan, cable operators across the country were compelled to take down a couple of channels from their lists.

Digital Media too was under fire. Facebook’s latest transparency report shows the highest number of government requests for content restriction were from Pakistan — a staggering 2,203, or 14 per cent of total content restrictions in the world.

Also Read M Ziauddin's Article On Media Censorship: Self-censorship enforced by faceless elements