New Delhi: Pakistani newsrooms are being told what to publish and what not. And it’s coming straight from the establishment. It’s a matter of two brotherly countries in the Gulf.
An investigation by US-based Drop Site News has revealed that the ISPR, the media wing of the Pakistan Army, had allegedly sent out a message to local media last week to cut down on their reportage on the “sensitive” dispute between the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. They even put screenshots of how The Express Tribune, a prominent English daily in Pakistan, had pulled back their coverage on the issue.
Tensions between the Gulf neighbours escalated after Saudi-led coalition forces attacked the Yemeni port of Mukalla, which is backed by the UAE. Saudi said it was targeting a UAE-linked weapons shipment that was headed toward Yemeni separatists, the Southern Transitional Council (STC). The Kingdom claimed that the alleged UAE actions threaten its national security. Abu Dhabi has denied the accusations.
The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 to fight Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The UAE joined the coalition that year but pulled most of its troops out in 2019. After the Mukalla strike, Yemen’s Saudi-backed leader Rashad al-Alimi cancelled a defence agreement with the UAE and ordered Emirati forces to leave within 24 hours. Saudi Arabia supported al-Alimi’s demand and called on the UAE to withdraw its forces and stop backing any armed group in Yemen.
A balancing act
Pakistan has key relations with both countries. In a video, Pakistani journalist Shahbaz Gill said that Pakistan’s stake in the Gulf crisis is not abstract.
Saudi Arabia is Pakistan’s largest source of foreign remittances and a crucial oil supplier. More than two million Pakistanis live and work in the Kingdom. In September 2025, the two countries signed a landmark defence pact, under which aggression against one would be treated as an attack against both.
On the other hand, Qatar hosts key diplomatic channels with the Afghan Taliban, placing Pakistan in a delicate balance.
While The Express Tribune initially reported on tensions in the Gulf, those articles went missing from its website the next day. It was only Dawn that continued to report on the matter. But even that was selective.
The paper reported a Pakistan Foreign Office statement that expressed regret over violence in Yemen and Pakistan’s opposition to “unilateral steps” that could escalate conflict or undermine regional stability. It reported on a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, followed by a meeting between the Saudi envoy and the Prime Minister in Islamabad. The Express Tribune and other outlets followed a similar pattern.
As the news of a reporting gag spread, questions were raised on press freedom and foreign policy narratives.
Meanwhile, Waqas, a Pakistani journalist with Drop Site News, had also reported, in a separate tweet on 29 December, that the Pakistani military allegedly also sent “anti-Qatar talking points” to the Pakistani media.
In his tweet, he claimed that the military’s message had apparently called out “Qatar’s dubious diplomatic neutrality” and had accused the Qatar-run Al Jazeera of biased reporting.
Also read: Pakistani newspapers’ advice for government in 2026—‘try governance, not control’
‘An Indian disinformation operation’
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting pushed back, calling it a disinformation tactic.
The ministry instead accused Indian media outlets as well as anti-Pakistan accounts on X of circulating an “AI-generated” fake document alleging that ISPR had issued talking points targeting Qatar and Al Jazeera.
According to the ministry, the claims by Waqas rested on a single screenshot, which it said lacked any letterhead, signature, date, or official markings. No Pakistani newspaper or television channel, the ministry noted, had reported such a leak.
“This is a deliberate Indian disinformation operation,” the ministry said, adding that it was aimed at sowing discord between Pakistan and Gulf states.
Waqas chose to respond with a “LOL”, clarifying his Pakistani identity and that he had merely shared material already circulating among journalists.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)