Speaking about freedom of the press, eminent Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi has said that “things are really bad” in his country in this respect. In a video released by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Sethi highlighted the plight of Pakistani journalists and the struggles that they have to go through right now.

“I have lived through many authoritarian regimes and many periods of censorship, but what is happening now is unprecedented,” Sethi said while speaking to CPJ. “Every time we ask a question, our credentials are challenged and efforts are made to gag us...We are told you can’t use certain words, can’t interview certain people, can’t show demonstrations by certain political parties.”

On August 6, the Najam Sethi Show was taken off-air by Channel 24 HD “after the channel received an unidentified phone call demanding the show be dropped”, CPJ reported.

Pakistan ranked 142 in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index.