Athens, March 13 (NationPress) Pakistan's approach to silencing dissent blends internal authoritarian practices with international repression. As the crackdown within the nation escalates, characterized by the arrest of journalists, media censorship, and violent suppression of protests, efforts to target overseas critics have significantly intensified, as highlighted in a recent report.

Per a report from the 'Greek City Times', Pakistan's allies in Europe and North America confront a dual dilemma: the need to pressure Islamabad for domestic reforms while simultaneously enhancing their own law enforcement, asylum, and diplomatic systems to prevent becoming embroiled in this global initiative to suppress dissent.

“Pakistan’s human rights crisis extends beyond its borders, with critics fleeing to Europe, North America, or the Middle East often experiencing intimidation, legal harassment, and threats accompanying them. International observers and diaspora supporters now recognize Pakistan as a leading example of transnational repression, utilizing security agencies, cybercrime laws, and diplomatic channels to perpetuate domestic censorship within communities in exile,” the report elaborated.

“This tactic specifically targets journalists, human rights activists, Baloch and Pashtun advocates, and supporters of opposition parties, indicating that voicing objections to the Pakistani government carries dangers even from thousands of kilometers away,” it added.

The report underscored that transnational repression refers to a pattern in which governments utilize threats, surveillance, legal mechanisms, and occasionally violence to silence critics abroad — frequently employing tactics such as family harassment, misuse of Interpol, rendition attempts, and extraterritorial assaults.

“Organizations like Freedom House and assessments from the US government have clearly identified Pakistan among about two dozen nations employing such tactics. For Pakistan, this method represents an extension of a longstanding domestic practice involving the enforced disappearances of Baloch and Pashtun activists, mass arrests of opposition supporters, and the prosecution of journalists under anti-terrorism or cybercrime legislation,” it noted.

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has manipulated Interpol mechanisms as a pivotal institutional instrument for transnational repression.

The report pointed out that journalists in exile are primary targets of this repression, referencing the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which reported that in February 2026, an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad sentenced four Pakistani journalists living abroad to life imprisonment in absentia.

“The court allegedly convicted them on charges of terrorism and incitement, predicated on their reporting and commentary critical of Pakistan’s security establishment and political leadership. RSF characterized the verdict as a classic instance of transnational repression, noting that although the journalists are physically outside of Pakistan, the sentence places them at risk of arrest should they travel and applies psychological pressure on them and their families. This manipulation of anti-terror legislation to criminalize journalism transforms exile into a state of permanent legal vulnerability,” it added.