A Multifaceted Threat Environment for Pakistan's Media

Threats to the media come from many sides in Pakistan: the military and its intelligence agencies, terrorists, and more recently, political parties. They tend to be directed at coverage of issues seen as sensitive—especially ethnic protest movements and insurgencies; militant groups and their ties with the military; a secular view of Pakistan as opposed to an Islamic state; and criticisms of the military that seriously undermine its supremacy. The threats are sometimes financial, at other times violent, with the aim of enforcing censorship; media outlets and individuals also preemptively resort to self-censorship. The overall effect is to limit the range of views available to Pakistanis to those that are more conservative, and that preserve the military's dominance.