Pakistan Requires Foreign Media To Obtain Government NOC: Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines 2026 Apply To All Foreign Correspondents Pakistani Nationals Freelancers Fixers And Camera Operators Working For International Outlets. AJK Protests And BBC Al Jazeera Coverage Was Trigger
According to BBC and Arab News, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduced sweeping new rules on August 5, 2026 requiring all journalists working for foreign media to register with the government, obtain official accreditation and secure a No Objection Certificate (NOC) before reporting from anywhere outside Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
The Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines 2026 apply not only to foreign correspondents but to Pakistani journalists, freelancers, stringers, fixers, translators and camera operators working in “any capacity” for international media organisations. Registration with the Ministry’s External Publicity Wing becomes mandatory before accreditation. Accreditation can be suspended if reporting is deemed to act “against the ideology, sovereignty, security or public order of Pakistan.”
The rules came days after the government publicly criticised BBC and Al Jazeera for their coverage of elections and protests in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where dozens died in a crackdown on protesters. The ministry called Al Jazeera’s coverage “yellow journalism” and its website was blocked. The BBC was asked to leave AJK. The guidelines do not specify a timeframe for NOC approval.
“For decades, governments have tried to kill the news and failed because of international media reporting — now they’re using these repressive rules,” said Nasir Zaidi of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
The government says it facilitates access. Journalists say it controls it. Check out our previous coverage of Pakistan on The Trusted Times.
