ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Pakistan has improved its ranking by seven places in the latest World Press Freedom Index after “changes of government loosened constraints on the media,” international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its annual report, released on Wednesday to coincide with World Press Freedom Day.

Pakistan is counted among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. Last year, the RSF said 93 journalists had been killed over the past 20 years in the South Asian nation where incidents of arrests, media censorship, online abuse, and physical attacks against journalists are common.

The latest RSF index, however, said Pakistan now ranks 150 out of 180 countries, with a score of 39.95 as compared to 37.99 last year.

The report evaluates each country or territory’s score using five contextual indicators, political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and safety.

“Changes of government loosened constraints on the media in Pakistan (150th) and the Philippines (132nd), even if these two countries continue to be among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists,” the RSF said in its 2023 analysis. 

“Despite changes in political power, a recurring theme is apparent: political parties in opposition support press freedom but are first to restrict it when in power," RSF added, saying Pakistan’s media regulators were directly controlled by the government and put the defence of the executive government before the public’s right to information. 

"As the military has tightened its grip on civilian institutions, coverage of military and intelligence agency interference in politics has become off limits for journalists,” RSF said.

The Pakistan military denies it suppresses the press. 

Media watchdog Freedom Network said in its annual ‘Pakistan Press Freedom Report’ released last week that violations rose by over 60% in Pakistan from May 2022 to March 2023.