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The China-Pakistan Information Corridor Is Made to Silence Journalists
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Pakistan and China have launched the China-Pakistan Information Corridor, a programme for media cooperation, fact-checking, research and cultural exchanges. Officials say it will help counter misinformation and improve public understanding of their relationship and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. An 18-member group of media organisations is intended to exchange news and content.
The initiative has prompted concern about independent reporting. An article in The Diplomat argues that a joint effort to identify misleading coverage could discourage scrutiny of projects important to both governments. That is a concern about how the corridor may be used, rather than an established effect of its launch. The concern has a documented basis in Pakistan’s existing media environment: its amended cybercrime law allows prison terms of up to three years for certain false information, and Reporters Without Borders says at least nine journalists were prosecuted under the law in 2025. The question is whether the new fact-checking work will correct demonstrable errors while leaving journalists free to investigate and challenge official claims.
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In short
- Pakistan and China have launched a joint information initiative.
- Officials say it will counter misinformation and expand media cooperation.
- Press freedom concerns centre on its potential effect on independent reporting.
How this story developed
- 4 hours ago Pakistan and China have launched the China-Pakistan Information Corridor, a programme for media cooperation, fact-checking, research and cultural exchanges. Officials say it will help counter misinformation and improve public understanding of their relationship and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
- The Diplomat The China-Pakistan Information Corridor Is Made to Silence Journalists
- Reporters Without Borders Pakistan: multiple journalists and a dozen YouTube channels targeted under PECA in less than a year
- Human Rights Commission of Pakistan HRCP calls for repeal of PECA (Amendment) Act
Full account
Pakistan’s revised Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) is facing mounting criticism from press-freedom and human-rights groups, which say its broad provisions are being used to constrain reporting and dissent. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says at least nine journalists have faced prosecution under the law since the start of 2025, while the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called for the amended law to be repealed.
The changes adopted in January widened the kinds of online material that can be prohibited, including information considered potentially false, contrary to Pakistan’s ideology or likely to cause fear or panic. The law also created a government-controlled regulatory authority and provides for prison terms of up to three years. HRCP says the amendment also made some offences that had been bailable and non-cognisable into non-bailable and cognisable offences, increasing the scope for coercive measures. It raised concerns about executive influence over the new authority, complaints council and tribunal, and said the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) replaced the Federal Investigation Agency without adequate safeguards.
RSF describes a series of cases it says illustrate the law’s use against journalists. On 6 August, the NCCIA issued a prosecution notice to Dawn journalist Muhammad Akbar Notezai over a 2024 investigation into alleged corruption in Balochistan. In a separate case, a complaint was filed in July against Muhammad Aslam of Lahore Rang over a Facebook post about a road construction project; the case was later dismissed after an out-of-court settlement that included removing the article. RSF also says PECA has been used to block journalists’ YouTube channels. The source reports that a further amendment was introduced in Parliament in September 2025. It would remove liability exemptions for internet service providers, hosts, platforms and social media companies, requiring prompt removal of content deemed objectionable under the law’s existing criteria or exposing them and potentially their executives to sanctions.
HRCP’s report, presented in May, places PECA within a wider pattern of restrictions on civic space and freedom of expression. Speakers at its advocacy meeting raised concerns about pressure on journalists in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and journalist Asad Ali Toor described his family’s bank accounts being frozen, allegedly in connection with his work. HRCP participants called for free speech to be decriminalised and for journalists, civil society and political parties to work together, while also recognising the need to address disinformation. RSF likewise urges lawmakers to tackle disinformation, but argues that regulation should use clear definitions and proportionate measures. Both organisations oppose the amended law’s effects on expression; RSF focuses on reported prosecutions and censorship, while HRCP sets out institutional and procedural objections and advocates a broader coalition for reform.
The accounts differ in scope and timing. HRCP’s May report assesses the January amendment and calls for repeal, including rejecting coercive use of earlier versions of PECA. RSF’s account follows subsequent cases and the September proposal to extend content-removal obligations to online intermediaries. The supplied RSF text ends part-way through its account of events on 22 August, so it does not provide the full list of cases it refers to.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
HRCP’s May report concentrates on the law’s design, enforcement powers and impact on civic freedoms; RSF gives more attention to cases involving journalists and online censorship.
RSF describes a September 2025 proposal to end liability exemptions for internet intermediaries. This proposal does not appear in HRCP’s May account, which predates it.
The sources use different counts and frames: RSF says at least nine journalists had been prosecuted since the start of 2025, while HRCP’s supplied report summary does not give a comparable number.