In the lingering shadow of an unprecedented election year and amid heightened political polarization, Pakistan’s media is battling for its survival. The Freedom Network’s annual report, set to be released on World Press Freedom Day 2025, makes this abundantly clear: the country’s press is not just under pressure-it is under siege. According to the report, the past 12 months have seen a surge in legal intimidation, harassment, and physical violence against journalists. Five media workers lost their lives. Dozens were arrested, detained, or directly threatened. And hundreds more operated under a climate of constant fear. The tools of repression have evolved-from overt censorship to algorithmic silencing, from crude threats to carefully worded legislation like the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which, since its amendment in January, serves as a legal cudgel against all voices of digital dissent. The geography is telling. Islamabad, ostensibly the heart of policymaking and diplomacy, recorded the highest number of attacks and threats. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab followed close behind. These are not fringe regions; they are the political and security nerve centres of the country. If journalists are unsafe there, where are they safe? Pakistan now ranks 152 out of 180 countries on the 2024 World Press Freedom Index-its lowest in years. Largely because it is now alarmingly easy for authorities to arrest, fine, and imprison journalists and dissenters-both offline and online-as many as fourteen journalists are facing legal cases, with at least eight arrests or detentions reported. The implications go far beyond the media industry. When journalists are silenced, the public is denied access to the truth. When newsrooms are attacked, democracy itself is undermined. In recent months, a number of seasoned anchors have gone off-air without explanation. Fact-based reporting seems to have been replaced with speculation. The line between journalism and propaganda stands blurred-not because reporters chose to cross it, but because they were pushed across it by threats, bans, and economic chokeholds. Women journalists face an added layer of risk. While their presence in newsrooms has increased-a small but positive shift-they are disproportionately targeted online, often subjected to vicious gender-based harassment. Their plight is exacerbated by a glaring lack of institutional support. Pakistan’s Constitution guarantees freedom of expression. But the on-ground reality tells another story. If this erosion continues, we may find ourselves with a media landscape devoid of independent voices-only whispers echoing in sanctioned spaces. That would be a loss for every Pakistani who still believes in the power of truth. *