Tel Aviv, Jan 21 (NationPress) The human rights crisis in Pakistan has escalated into a global concern, as critics of the state are increasingly being targeted in regions like Europe, North America, and Africa. Journalists, activists, and former officials who once felt secure in exile are now encountering intimidation, violence, and pressure abroad. This phenomenon is known as transnational repression, and according to a recent report, Pakistan stands out as one of its most alarming practitioners.

Michael Arizanti, a noted writer and Middle East Affairs expert, remarked in The Times of Israel: Transnational repression transcends isolated threats or rogue individuals; it involves states projecting their coercive capabilities across borders to suppress voices they cannot silence domestically. In Pakistan’s context, this tactic has proliferated alongside increasing military authority, legal protections for high-ranking officials, and the deterioration of judicial independence. The report elucidates how this system operates, its intensification, and the growing scrutiny from the international community.

Arizanti emphasizes that Pakistan's approach to transnational repression is now overt, citing the shocking murder of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya in 2022 after he fled due to persistent threats. His assassination underscored the grim reality that distance offers no safe refuge. In 2023, former government advisor Shahzad Akbar survived an acid attack in the UK while his brother was abducted in Pakistan around the same period.

Numerous critics of Pakistan's military regime, including filmmakers, journalists, and political commentators, have reported facing threats, surveillance, and harassment in the US, Europe, and Africa. In many instances, it is not the dissidents themselves who are directly pressured; rather, their families in Pakistan endure the consequences. This tactic effectively turns the loved ones of dissidents into hostages, compelling silence through fear. By 2025, UK counter-terrorism authorities investigating threats against Pakistani dissidents indicated these incidents are part of a wider trend, not isolated events.

Human rights organizations have been tracking this disturbing pattern for years. Freedom House has labeled Pakistan as one of the governments responsible for physical acts of transnational repression, including assaults, abductions, and forced returns. Their findings reveal that these actions are increasingly orchestrated, targeting those who expose military misconduct, enforced disappearances, or corruption.

Human Rights Watch has condemned Pakistan’s misuse of counterterrorism legislation to justify enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings, particularly in Balochistan. Amnesty International has pointed out the nation's escalating use of digital surveillance and censorship tools, often procured from foreign firms, to monitor critics abroad and intimidate their families in Pakistan. Collectively, these observations reveal a systematic approach to repression that has become normalized, bureaucratized, and exported.

The voices of victims are now resonating at higher political echelons in other countries. In 2025, the US Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission convened hearings addressing Pakistan’s repression, featuring testimonies from exiled critics. UK Parliament members have denounced threats against Pakistani dissidents, urging institutions to protect them from foreign intimidation. Scheduled for January 29, the US Senate will conduct its inaugural formal briefing on Pakistan’s transnational repression, with topics including political prisoners, digital censorship, and the use of overseas intimidation as a state policy instrument.