By Saharanpur News Desk 
Islamabad: Al Jazeera English’s website has become inaccessible to many users in Pakistan amid growing restrictions on foreign media and heightened tensions in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where weeks of protests and clashes have left dozens dead.
The development comes as Pakistan faces increasing scrutiny over restrictions on journalists and foreign media covering the unrest in PoK. Reuters reported on August 6 that Pakistan had introduced new controls requiring Pakistani journalists, fixers and other local staff working for foreign media organizations to obtain government permission before travelling and reporting outside Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
At the same time, foreign reporters without the required reporting permissions were ordered to leave PoK. Reuters reported that the Al Jazeera English website became inaccessible to many Pakistani users during the same period. However, neither the Pakistani government nor Al Jazeera responded to Reuters’ requests for comment, meaning there has been no publicly confirmed official explanation for the website’s inaccessibility.
Al Jazeera has extensively reported on the unrest in PoK, including protests, road blockades, internet restrictions and clashes between protesters and security forces.
The unrest intensified in June after authorities banned the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a civil society coalition whose demands included changes to the region’s electoral system. The protests also focused on economic grievances, including the cost of electricity and subsidised flour.
Reuters reported in June that at least 24 people had been killed during nearly two weeks of unrest, including civilians and police personnel. Authorities also detained more than 500 people, while road closures, internet restrictions and limited media access disrupted daily life across the region.
The situation continued into July. Al Jazeera reported that prolonged roadblocks and internet shutdowns had disrupted transport, education, healthcare and the supply of essential goods in parts of PoK.
The United Nations also called for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into civilian and security-force deaths during the unrest.
The restrictions on Al Jazeera come against a broader backdrop of increasing controls on foreign media operating in Pakistan.
Under the latest guidelines reported by Reuters, Pakistani nationals working for foreign media outlets must obtain government permission to travel and report outside the country’s three major cities of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. They are also required to register with the government.
Human Rights Watch criticised the measures, warning that restrictions on journalists could further narrow the space for independent reporting and encourage self-censorship. The BBC and Financial Times have also expressed concerns over the restrictions.
The restrictions are particularly significant because PoK has been the centre of prolonged unrest and has already experienced disruptions to internet and mobile services.
The latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index 2026 ranks Pakistan 153rd out of 180 countries, placing it in the organisation’s “very serious” category. Pakistan’s score improved compared with 2025, when it was ranked 158th.
India, meanwhile, is ranked 157th, four places below Pakistan, according to the same index. RSF gives India a score of 31.96 and Pakistan 32.61.
The rankings, however, are based on multiple indicators, including political, economic, legal, social and security factors. The ranking therefore cannot by itself establish that media freedom is better in one country simply because it occupies a higher position.
The current controversy also brings back an earlier episode involving Al Jazeera in India.
In April 2015, the Indian government took Al Jazeera English off the air for five days over maps used by the channel that did not mark the disputed Kashmir region in accordance with India’s position. Al Jazeera criticised the decision as disproportionate.
The 2015 action was limited to five days and concerned the channel’s television broadcast. Al Jazeera’s current website remains accessible in India.
The comparison between the two situations is therefore more complicated than a simple claim that either country has completely unrestricted or completely restricted Al Jazeera.
The immediate question is whether the reported inaccessibility of Al Jazeera’s website in Pakistan will continue and whether Pakistani authorities will provide an official explanation.
The development comes at a sensitive time for PoK, where protests, electoral tensions, internet restrictions and clashes have already created significant disruption. Regional elections have also been affected by the unrest, with voting divided into multiple phases because of security concerns.
With Pakistan simultaneously tightening rules for foreign media and restricting journalists’ movement, the latest developments are likely to intensify the debate over press freedom and independent reporting in the country.
For now, however, the precise reason why Al Jazeera’s website became inaccessible to many Pakistani users remains unclear, as neither the Pakistani government nor Al Jazeera has publicly confirmed the reason for the reported restriction.
- Reuters: Pakistan broadens foreign media curbs, local staff face new restrictions.
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF): Pakistan — World Press Freedom Index 2026.
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF): India — World Press Freedom Index 2026.
- Amnesty International: Pakistan authorities, communications blackout and reports of lethal force against protesters.
- Al Jazeera: Reporting on internet blackout and roadblocks in PoK.
- The Week: Khawaja Asif’s remarks on PoK protesters.