Pakistan’s New Foreign Media Guidelines 2026 Ban Most Journalists From Traveling Outside Three Major Cities, HRCP and PFUJ Cite Restrictive Shift.

Pakistan’s government has issued Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines 2026 that restrict foreign journalists’ movement. The guidelines require a no‑objection certificate (NOC) from the information ministry for any travel to a city other than Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi. The rules also force any entity that helps foreign media in Pakistan to register with the ministry’s External Publicity (EP) Wing. Individual press registration may be suspended or withdrawn if the EP Wing deems it an act against ideology, sovereignty, security or public order. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said in a statement released on Wednesday that the new rules send a "chilling message: that critical reporting is unwelcome." HRCP warned that the guidelines would "institutionalise bureaucratic control over news gathering" and risk deterring independent reporting on matters of public interest. "The government has not only banned foreign journalists from visiting most areas of Pakistan except major cities, but it has also restricted the movement of Pakistani media persons working with international outlets," said PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari in a statement on Thursday. "How can foreign correspondents and their Pakistani colleagues perform their professional duties after this notification?" they asked. PFUJ added that the restrictions could lead to job losses for Pakistani journalists who work with foreign media and that the move would damage Pakistan’s image. The union stated that such actions are characteristic of "banana republics, not countries that claim to follow democratic principles". Amnesty International and the BBC have also urged the Pakistani authorities to withdraw the guidelines, saying the restrictions would "step backwards" for press freedom in the country. Both HRCP and PFUJ have called for the government to lift the ban, citing the importance of protecting freedom of expression and the right to independent reporting.