Pakistan Tightens Foreign Media Rules, Makes NOC Mandatory for Travel

Pakistan has made a new rule for journalists who come from other countries.

If they want to travel outside three big cities—Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi—to report the news, they must first get a special permission paper called a No Objection Certificate, or NOC.

That permission is given by Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The rule covers newspapers, TV channels, websites, and social media reporters, and also the helpers, called fixers, who work with them.

Journalists also have to sign up online and will get special cards that help them enter government buildings.

For fun trips to places like Abbottabad and Murree, they can ask for permission and get an answer within three working days.

Pakistan says this is just a way to keep a list and recognize journalists.

But many people are worried about the timing, because it comes after big protests in a region called Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

At least 90 people have reportedly died in the protests since June, and groups like Amnesty International and India say the new rules make it harder for reporters to show what is happening.