In Pakistan, the code of conduct and ordinance act comprises a set of rules for publishing, distributing, and circulating news stories and operating media organizations working independently or running in the country.
Nevertheless, freedom of the press in Pakistan is subject to certain restrictions, such as defamation law, a lack of protection for whistleblowers, barriers to information access, and constraints caused by public and government hostility to journalists.
To protect the intellectual, moral, and fundamental rights of the citizens, the government has taken several countermeasures to combat circulating fake news and restricting objectionable content across multiple platforms.
The law of Pakistan prohibits spreading or publishing fake news through social or mass media, and could lead to the imprisonment of a journalist or a newspaper ban.
The annual report stated the declination of rank for several unlawful reasons such as written and verbal threats of murder, and offline and online harassment.
[13] The federal government-owned agency Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), responsible for regulating and issuing channel licenses for establishment of the mass, print and electronic media, restricted some news presenters from participating in debates on Talk shows, and later the restrictions were lifted after sixty days.
The government, however, suspended under a set of new laws for media regulators to attempt to restrict press conferences convicted or on-trial politicians.