Access to Al Jazeera’s website has reportedly been blocked in Pakistan after the Qatar-based broadcaster published a series of reports on anti-government protests, an election movement and a crackdown in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has not formally announced a ban, but users in several parts of the country said on social media that they could not reach Al Jazeera’s English-language website. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting accused the outlet of selective and misleading reporting.
In a statement on X, the ministry said Al Jazeera had deliberately reported from selected polling centers in Muzaffarabad to create a misleading impression of the election and voting process in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The ministry said footage recorded at specific times and comments from selected people had been used to cast doubt on the election. It described the coverage as yellow journalism serving external forces that sought to delegitimize the vote and undermine the mandate of AJK residents.
Pakistan calls the part of Jammu and Kashmir it administers Azad Jammu and Kashmir. India maintains that all of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and that Pakistan illegally occupies part of the territory.
Concerns over press freedom
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international press-freedom organization, strongly criticized restrictions on reporting in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
In a post on X, CPJ said press freedom was rapidly deteriorating amid the continuing protests. Reports of an internet shutdown, disrupted telecommunications, reporting restrictions, and detained or missing journalists were deeply concerning, it said.
CPJ called on Pakistani authorities to end pressure on journalists immediately, restore the flow of information and allow independent reporting.
Journalists reported missing
CPJ expressed particular concern for the safety of independent journalist Razi Tahir and his colleague Muhammad Saif. The organization said men wearing police uniforms took them from their Islamabad office on Aug. 1 and that their whereabouts had since remained unknown.
If the two were in state custody, Pakistan should acknowledge it, provide due process and release them immediately if they were being held without cause, CPJ said.
The organization said Kashmiri journalist Raja Ikram was also detained in Islamabad on Aug. 1 but was later released.
CPJ said access to Al Jazeera was restricted after its Kashmir reporting. It also cited media reports that partial internet blackouts and strict telecommunications restrictions had been in place in parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir since June 5.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report