ISLAMABAD: The global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released its 2024 World Press Freedom Index, showing a continued decline in Pakistan’s standing on the global stage. According to the report, Pakistan now ranks 158th out of 180 countries – a drop from its position at 152 in 2023.
The decline signals deepening concerns over the state of press freedom in the country. RSF attributes this regression to intensifying threats against journalists, heightened censorship, and increasing state control over editorial content. The report highlights that both political interference and growing economic pressure are undermining the independence of the media. Independent journalism is being silenced not just through intimidation, but through systemic financial suffocation.
The report notes that media outlets in Pakistan face growing challenges in maintaining editorial autonomy as ownership becomes more centralized, advertising revenue is withheld from critical voices, and journalists are subject to legal harassment, abductions, and violent attacks. The watchdog also pointed to digital censorship and surveillance as tools used to monitor and suppress dissent.
This alarming trend isn’t isolated to Pakistan. The RSF report paints a grim global picture, stating that nearly one-third of the world’s nations are witnessing the shutdown of media outlets due to financial crises or direct government intervention. It warns that authoritarian regimes are increasingly leveraging economic and regulatory tactics to control narratives and stifle dissent.
India also came under scrutiny, with the report warning that concentrated media ownership among a few political and corporate elites is eroding independent journalism. The space for free expression, especially in the digital realm, continues to shrink.
The situation in Palestine was described as “devastating,” with nearly 200 journalists reported killed during Israeli military operations. The report condemned the targeting of media personnel and called for accountability and international safeguards for journalists in conflict zones.
Reporters Without Borders has called on global governments — including Pakistan’s — to enact transparent, protective legislation that upholds journalistic freedom and ensures a safe, independent media landscape. The organization emphasized that a free press is essential to democracy and must be defended against both overt and covert forms of repression.
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