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Pakistani journalist banned by Army says it’s ‘sadder’ to be blocked by India

Wajahat Saeed Khan’s documentary series on the Pakistani military, We Are Soldiers, was banned by Pakistan’s media regulator, PEMRA.

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New Delhi: Pakistani journalist Wajahat Saeed Khan is now banned in both his home country and India, and he is quoting George Orwell to make his point. 

The ban comes in the wake of heightened regional tensions, including India’s recent clampdown on Pakistani news websites and public figures following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Khan shared the news on X, quoting George Orwell: “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”

Critical reporting

Known for his work across major international and regional media outlets—including CNN, The Times, India Today, and Nikkei Asia—Khan has reported from Islamabad, Kabul, New York, and London. He is widely recognised for his hit Urdu-language current affairs show Mahaaz (The Front), which aired from 2015 to 2018 on Dunya News, and for his critical reporting on Pakistan’s national security and political issues.

Khan’s career began in the early 2000s after he returned to Pakistan from the University of Michigan, which coincided with the deregulation of the electronic media sector under then-president Pervez Musharraf. He held senior roles at Geo News and later helped launch Dawn News, where he hosted the political interview series Talk Back and produced content from India, making him one of the first Pakistani journalists to do so.

His documentary series on the Pakistani military, We Are Soldiers, was banned by Pakistan’s media regulator, PEMRA. He has since worked for multiple international networks and publications and authored a best-selling biography of cricketer Shahid Afridi, Game Changer, in 2019.

“I find it fitting that I’ve been blocked and persecuted by the Pakistani military. They have little patience for truth. But to get blocked by India, which considers itself democratic antithesis to Pakistan? I find it sadder,” Wajahat Saeed Khan told ThePrint.


Also read: London police probes Pakistani official’s slit-throat gesture. Pakistanis embarrassed


Not new to controversy

In 2023, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a strong statement condemning a complaint filed in Islamabad that accused journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan and Shaheen Sehbai of “abetting mutiny”—a charge that, despite its implausibility, carries the potential for the death penalty under Pakistani law. The RSF called on Pakistani prosecutors to immediately dismiss what it described as a “ludicrous” and “manifestly absurd” First Information Report (FIR). 

In June 2023, Khan conducted an in-depth interview with Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan. During the hour-long conversation, Imran Khan, who was removed from office in April 2022, disclosed new insights into the breakdown of efforts to achieve peace with India. He also recounted concerns voiced by former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa about Pakistan’s military preparedness in comparison to India. Additionally, he discussed the worsening state of Pakistan’s economy and democracy and shared that he was mentally preparing for the possibility of imprisonment or even assassination.

Pakistanis, meanwhile, in their quickstyle humour, offered the banned journalist a few alternatives. Jasir Shahbaz wrote on X: “Aap ab White House kay bath tubon say live program karain. Yeh third world countries ko dafa karain (You should now broadcast live from the White House bathtubs and forget third world countries altogether).”

“Why would India block Wajahat S. Khan, a journalist known for his balanced and critical reporting on the Pakistani military and Kashmir, among other things? Ironically, his work displeases the Pakistani military more than anyone! They’d be glad it’s kept from Indian audiences!” Pakistanwalli wrote.

(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)

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