Pakistan Requires Journalists Outside Three Major Cities to Obtain Government Approval

Pakistan's 2026 Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines require any media contributor, including freelancers, operating outside Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi to obtain a No Objection Certificate before covering stories — with no specified approval timeframe. Existing NOC waits can last months or yield no response. Dawn editor Zaffar Abbas called the restrictions "ridiculous" and "totally unacceptable."