Pakistani investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani, and co-founder of FactFocus, has been at the center of escalating tensions between the press and the military establishment over the last three years. Noorani is a fact-based investigative journalist who has always provided factual reports to check state power and expose the wealth, power and influence that top military officials and their families have accumulated. In March 2025, Noorani dropped another explosive report, “Army Chief or a King: GHQ Tightens Grip on Civilian Institutions Under General Asim Munir,” which revealed how serving Army Chief General Asim Munir had planted several of his relatives and close associates in key civilian positions in violation of rules. The report also claimed that Munir’s married daughters had been issued diplomatic passports without authorization, in violation of foreign service regulations.
When this report was released, Noorani was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in three cases of cyberterrorism and defamation of state institutions for allegedly spreading false information about state institutions. Just days later, his two brothers Saifur Rehman Haider and Muhammad Ali, both engineers with no connection to journalism, were abducted from their home in Islamabad by unidentified individuals thought to be linked to intelligence agencies. When her sons were abducted, their mother had to go to the Islamabad High Court and file a habeas corpus petition, claiming that the abduction was a retaliatory act to make Noorani pay for his investigative work. Up to now, Noorani has gone into exile and his brothers have not been seen.
The case of Ahmad Noorani is not an isolated incident but rather part of a consistent and escalating pattern of repression against journalists, dissenters, and human rights defenders in Pakistan. Over the past year, there have been multiple instances where journalists have faced harassment, abduction, or legal persecution for exposing the misconduct of powerful institutions, particularly the military. Noorani himself was previously targeted after publishing an investigative report on the wealth of former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. In many of these cases, the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) has been misused as a legal weapon to stifle press freedom, using vague provisions such as “cyberterrorism” and “spreading false information” to justify arrests and censorship. What makes Noorani’s case even more alarming is the abduction of his brothers, which highlights a growing tactic of punishing family members to silence journalists working from abroad. This pattern points to a deeper erosion of democratic norms in Pakistan, where legal tools and state institutions are increasingly being manipulated to suppress dissent, protect elite interests, and deter investigative journalism. This results in self-censorship, less investigative journalism and a weaker media. For instance, after Noorani’s report, other media houses didn’t pick up the story from there, because they feared the repercussions.
Country: Pakistan
Alert type: deterioration alert
Enabling environment it relates to:
- 1. Respect and protection of fundamental freedoms
- 6. Digital Environment Integrity and Security