Pakistan has been eager to improve its international image, which has been significantly damaged following the controversial ousting of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in April 2022. Democratic practices, the ruling government, mainstream media, and most political parties in Pakistan are all compromised and subservient to the powerful military establishment. Nonetheless, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has effectively utilized social media platforms to openly criticize and challenge the military. More importantly, the Pakistani diaspora in Western countries like the United States and the United Kingdom strongly supports Khan’s PTI. The US and UK chapters of PTI have successfully pressured local governments regarding the “unjustified” imprisonment of Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi. This campaign has significantly tarnished the international reputation of the Pakistan Army and its intelligence agencies.
Consequently, under pressure from the military establishment, Pakistan’s government has halted mainstream media coverage of Imran Khan and his party. Some journalists have even been kidnapped, killed, tortured, or disappeared by security agencies for supporting Imran Khan. International human rights organizations and foreign governments have closely monitored these developments in Pakistan and placed the blame on the military establishment. Moreover, the highly controversial and reportedly “rigged” general elections in Pakistan have significantly tarnished the country’s global image. As a result, Islamabad has been considering ways to enhance its image and engage in an international narrative-setting exercise. Under this plan, Pakistani diplomats, pro-Army academics, retired military officials, and researchers from think tanks may approach their Western counterparts to construct an Islamabad-friendly narrative. Additionally, the Pakistani government may hire lobbying firms in the U.S., the U.K., and select European countries to counter the “anti-Pakistan” narrative on social media.
Notably, Khan’s PTI has extensively utilized social media platforms to amplify their concerns and attract international attention to the issue. Since mainstream media in Pakistan is prohibited from covering PTI’s protests, social media sites like X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Facebook have been leveraged to drive Khan’s movement against the military establishment and the ruling coalition government. Several new draconian social media regulations have been implemented in the past two years to undermine PTI’s efforts. The X platform was banned in Pakistan shortly after reports of vote rigging began to emerge on social media in February. This suggested that Pakistan’s military establishment aimed to suppress alleged “misinformation” regarding election results to facilitate the formation of a controversial coalition government in Islamabad. Since then, there has been a decline in the autonomy of mainstream media, access to social media, internet availability, and online freedom in Pakistan.
In May, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged Pakistan’s new federal and provincial authorities to take urgent actions in response to the alarming signs of worsening press freedom since they took office three months ago. In the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, RSF ranked Pakistan 152 out of 180 countries, highlighting a significant decline in press freedom. Data from the United States-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) indicates that 64 journalists have been killed in connection with their work in Pakistan since 1992. The staggering levels of impunity regarding attacks on journalists reveal a critical failure of accountability and protection by government authorities in Pakistan. The country was ranked 11th on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2023 Global Impunity Index. The situation has been exacerbated by a massive state-run security crackdown on Imran Khan and his party supporters, including journalists.
Sher Afgan, a journalist with Bol News TV and the president of the press club in Dera Ghazi Khan, a city in Punjab province, along with Ghulam Mustafa, a reporter for the Daily Ausaf newspaper and president of the Anjuman-e-Sahafyan (Union of Journalists), was detained on May 7 for protesting a police raid on the press club during a press conference held by supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Senior journalist Matiullah Jan has been detained twice a year for covering PTI’s protests and advocating for Imran Khan’s release from prison. He was detained last month for covering PTI’s protest in Islamabad and was falsely charged in a “bogus” narcotics case by an Anti-Terrorist Court to pressure him against reporting on the issue. Through this blatant misuse of the legal system, Pakistan’s military and government agencies are attempting to create a ‘positive’ narrative internationally.
So far, those efforts have failed to garner any response from the international community. Conversely, PTI’s foreign chapters have successfully received support letters from legislators in the US and UK, including resolution 901 in the US House of Representatives addressing the erosion of democracy in Pakistan, along with several other critical reports from human rights organizations.[7] In June, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution with a significant bipartisan vote of 368-7. The resolution “condemns attempts to suppress the people of Pakistan’s participation in their democracy, including through harassment, intimidation, violence, arbitrary detention, restrictions on access to the internet, or any violation of their human, civil, or political rights.”
In October, over 60 Democratic lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to President Joe Biden, urging him to use Washington’s leverage with Pakistan to secure the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. In addition to the issue concerning Imran Khan, foreign legislators have also raised concerns about the overall deterioration of human rights and the targeting of ethnic minorities in Pakistan. For instance, last week, U.K. MP Sojan Joseph hosted a meeting at Parliament House in London to address the growing worries about escalating human rights violations in Balochistan, particularly those attributed to Pakistani security forces. Pakistan recently established the National Committee on Narrative Building to develop effective campaign strategies for domestic and international audiences. However, it is unlikely to succeed, as the military establishment’s repression against Imran Khan and his party, independent journalists, as well as religious and ethnic minorities has become unprecedented in the country. Critical voices from Western nations are expected to grow even louder in the coming months.