New Delhi: No newspapers were delivered to people across Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad on Friday.
The reason? For the first time, the city’s Akhbar Market—the city’s principal newspaper distribution centre—was sealed over non-payment of dues of 10 million PKR.
Journalists across Pakistan called it a deliberate move aimed at muzzling the country’s media. The sealing halted newspaper supplies not only to homes and shops but also to the Prime Minister’s Office, the President’s Office and foreign embassies, according to representatives of the All Pakistan Akhbar Farosh Federation.
The dispute between newspaper distributors and city administration concerns the basis for the charges and the legal grounds for sealing the market. The federation maintains that the amount claimed relates to a vacant plot adjacent to the market that was never allotted or leased to it. The administration, meanwhile, says outstanding payments remain an issue, as per local reports.
The closure has also drawn condemnation from the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), which has urged the federal government to intervene and restore newspaper distribution in the capital.
“This is a sad day in the country’s history. Without any solid reasons, our market was sealed by DMA in the name of pending charges of the plot,” Tikka Khan, the federation’s secretary-general, was quoted as saying in a Dawn report.
APNS described the market as a central distribution hub that had served Islamabad for decades. Its closure, they said, threatened timely newspaper delivery and risked substantial financial losses for media organisations and newspaper vendors.
The APNS office-bearers said the action undermined press freedom and disrupted the circulation of newspapers. They urged the interior minister to direct the relevant authorities to unseal the premises and restore normal operations.
Hamid Mir, a prominent Pakistani journalist, also criticised the decision in a post on X, linking it to the wider pressures facing the country’s media industry.
“Pakistani media is already dying. Newspapers are losing circulation due to censorship. Now authorities have sealed the newspaper market in the capital of Pakistan. Newspaper distribution is suspended. The message is very clear for the media. Pack up and start some other business,” he wrote.
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Pakistani media in crisis
The suspension of newspaper disruption in Islamabad comes amid a prolonged period of financial and institutional strain for Pakistan’s media sector, with even mainstream Dawn facing mounting pressure.
In December 2025, DawnNews.tv, the group’s Urdu digital platform, shut down. The International Federation of Journalists condemned the layoffs, while the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists called for government intervention. In September 2024, Dawn closed its Quetta bureau in Balochistan.
In August 2025, Aurora, Dawn’s marketing and advertising magazine, ended its 27-year run. The publication had covered branding, marketing, advertising and the evolution of Pakistan’s media and creative industries.
In March 2025, Dawn published a sharply worded editorial stating that the federal and Punjab governments had withheld advertisements for five consecutive months.
The newspaper described the loss of advertising revenue as a serious threat to its financial viability, arguing that prolonged restrictions could place independent news organisations under pressure to compromise their editorial positions.
“Silencing criticism is no solution, whether the issue at hand is social, political, or of any other nature. Unsurprisingly, weak rulers have always struggled to grasp this simple truth. In era after era, we have seen dictators attempt to control the press — to cajole, bribe, or browbeat newspapers and journalists into submitting to those they were meant to hold to account. The current regime’s attempt to punish the paper has taken a different form, but its aim is the same: to apply pressure tactics to gain compliance,” they wrote.
Dawn’s difficulties are not isolated. Other Pakistani media organisations have also reduced staff or curtailed operations.
Nukta cut 37 journalists in November 2025, according to a report published by Journalism Pakistan. The Jang media group cut more than 80 jobs in May, while Awaz reportedly eliminated 137 positions in June. Employees at Pakistan Television protested delayed wages, and Radio Pakistan staff demanded payment of outstanding dues.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)