Anyone working for foreign media, including Pakistanis, will now need permission to report from anywhere outside three major cities.

Recent tensions in Kashmir have led to demonstrations, and police crackdowns, like this one in Lahore Pakistani authorities have imposed new restrictions on international media reporting in the country in a move that has drawn sharp criticism from journalist organisations. Anyone working for foreign media, including Pakistani nationals, must now seek permission to report from anywhere except the cities of Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. The restrictions would leave on-the-ground reporting by foreign media at the discretion and timing of the authorities across most of Pakistan, which currently ranks 153 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index. "These guidelines are tantamount to choking international media in an increasingly shrinking space," said political commentator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar. Limitations on the media are not new, but local media are often subject to more pressure than international outlets. "The public looks at the international media for independent reporting," Khokhar says. "Placing restrictions simply creates more room for disinformation and spread of fake news." The government has been critical of coverage of deadly protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir - foreign media will need to seek permission to travel there