FactFocus

Data-based investigative journalism —— Focus: #Governance, #Health, #Environment, #Politics, #HumanRights, #PressFreedom. #FactFocus

[FactFocus @FactFocusFF]

Khalid Riaz, Saudi oil giant Aramco’s partner in Pakistan and a prominent oil businessman close to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, is paying Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja Rs3 million a month as rent of two empty plots.

The CEC receives the amount as “rent” for “two properties”. However, a recent FactFocus investigation found that both properties are vacant plots overgrown with wild weeds, bushes and untended grass, with no sign of construction or business activity.

Link to full report

https://t.co/qN6w2m138H

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

#Pakistan: The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Pakistan authorities to withdraw sweeping restrictions preventing television network broadcasts from airing live coverage of terrorist attacks and other vaguely defined “unpleasant” incidents. Journalists and media workers must be able to report breaking news and current affairs independently, free from fear of legal retaliation, and in the public interest.

On October 13, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ordered all satellite television channels to refrain from broadcasting, rebroadcasting, or airing live coverage of any “unfortunate” or “unpleasant” incident, including explosions, blasts, shootings, and terrorist attacks, according to a copy of the directive reviewed by CPJ.

“Preventing journalists from independent reporting of major security incidents and requiring them to rely on information authorized by state and security agencies risks turning legitimate safety safeguards into a system of official information control and censorship,” said Waliullah Rahmani, CPJ’s Afghanistan and Pakistan representative. “Pakistani authorities must rescind these sweeping restrictions and allow newsrooms to make responsible editorial decisions without fear of regulatory retaliation.”

More: https://t.co/gruPdE2Fwh

#PressFreedom

[Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office @amnestysasia]

Pakistan: The Anti-Terrorism (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2026, raises serious concerns about the right to a fair trial.

In a new public statement, Amnesty International examines the amendment against Pakistan’s obligations under international human rights law and highlights how expansion of anti-terror powers, weakened due process safeguards and increased executive discretion risk undermining fundamental fair trial guarantees.

Read the statement here: https://t.co/XKEZiiJrq0

[Ahmad Noorani @Ahmad_Noorani]

Aramco Partner, Nawaz Sharif’s close Ally Khalid Riaz Bankrolls CEC Sikander Sultan Raja with Rs3m Monthly

My latest for FactFocus @FactFocusFF

https://t.co/oYGhCeB8Cp

Link for those stuck in Pakistan:
https://t.co/u5CP1ZwiXC
..

[FactFocus @FactFocusFF]

Aramco Partner, Nawaz Sharif’s close Ally Bankrolls CEC Sikander Sultan Raja with Rs3m Monthly

@Ahmad_Noorani reports for @FactFocusFF

https://t.co/J6jm6DfV0g

Link for those stuck in Pakistan:
https://t.co/pnIiuhelr9
.

[FactFocus @FactFocusFF]

https://t.co/Z2bZiat1tp

As democracy erodes further and human rights violations rise, the need for our investigative journalism grows.

Tips on governance and human rights violation in Pakistan keep coming in, while our team works in a shrinking and increasingly dangerous space.

We remain committed to bringing the truth to the public, and because we rely solely on crowdfunding, your support is what makes that work possible.

Please contribute to FactFocus and help us continue these investigations.

[Ahmad Noorani @Ahmad_Noorani]

Here's to looking at you, Junaid Hafeez

A timeline of his 13-year case and incarceration

Zainab writes for Dawn

https://t.co/XFvB8IMkNa

[FactFocus @FactFocusFF]

The Daily Telegraph’s report on Pakistan’s blasphemy gang and its alleged patrons, including Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, while crediting FactFocus for our extensive investigations, is a welcome development for the wider debate on blasphemy politics and injustice in Pakistan.

This acknowledgment is particularly significant at a time when journalists and human rights activists aligned with the Pakistani establishment are either ignoring the issue or, even when discussing it, failing to acknowledge the pioneering investigations carried out by FactFocus.

FactFocus first exposed this dangerous network in July 2024, at a time when no mainstream media organization, and virtually no digital media outlet, was prepared to report on it. Our team pursued and published these investigations despite serious risks to the lives and safety of our staff and their families.

The issue began receiving wider attention after Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan took up a petition relying on the FactFocus investigation which verified and declassified Punjab Police Special Branch report. Others subsequently became involved and bravely spoke out against the injustice faced by the victims.

For months, Advocate Usman Warraich represented the victims of the blasphemy gang. Even today, blasphemy gang continues to wield considerable influence. Its victims face enormous difficulties and, in many cases, still struggle to find lawyers willing to represent them, while Imaan and Hadi who are lawyers for many of these victims, remain imprisoned by Pakistani establishment on frivolous charges.

The FactFocus team is deeply grateful to @Telegraph and @MemphisBarker for this recognition and for the professionalism they have demonstrated in reporting this important story.

@AdvUsmanWaraich @AdvHadiali @ImaanZHazir

https://t.co/h6D8ufH0kg

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

The Pakistani cleric given an award by the Archbishop of Canterbury has been accused of protecting a blasphemy “blackmail” gang, The Telegraph can reveal.

🔗:https://t.co/woHNXRq77D

[Waqar Gillani وقار گیلانی @waqargillani]

#Pakistan: #JunaidHafeez, 40, has spent 1/3 of his life in solitary confinement aft extremist group in #BZU campus alleged him of #blasphemy. Progress views, expressed openly, were key reason for campaign agnst him through mob and moral policing - via @thenews_intl
https://t.co/HFJZtAGRFn

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

#Malaysia: The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Malaysian government to substantially amend a freedom of information (FOI) bill to bring it in line with international standards and strengthen press freedom.

The bill includes provisions that could fine or jail applicants accused of using information obtained through the FOI mechanism for purposes different from those initially stated in their request, according to a CPJ review of the draft. Such restrictions could put the journalists at serious risk when the documents reveal new facts that warrant further critical reporting.

Read more: https://t.co/reY9nypDM3

#PressFreedom @anwaribrahim @AzalinaOthmanS

[Q @QindeelAzeem]

It is good to finally see international media reporting on the Blasphemy Business Group and the support provided by Tahir Ashrafi to his brother, who is a key leader of the Blasphemy Business Group

These hypocrites oppose secularism in Pakistan, hold nationalities of secular countries as their safety net. It’s time the Pakistani people stopped buying their commodity: “religion”. Your children deserve better

https://t.co/Fxn9Z2eM0F

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

#India: CPJ is monitoring the continued detention of journalist Ravi Nair. We reiterate that journalists should never be targeted, harassed, or detained simply for doing their jobs. Authorities should respect journalists’ right to report freely and without fear of reprisal.

https://t.co/HClMdY4Y6f

#PressFreedom

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

#HongKong: CPJ submitted a statement to the @CECCgov hearing on jailed publisher Jimmy Lai, calling on the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration to “resolutely demand” for his release.

Read our full statement: https://t.co/U4R6J7dnJS #FreeJimmyLai

[Q @QindeelAzeem]

Junaid Hafeez still has a brilliant mind. He read books in solitary confinement

Release him and he can still give this country far more than it has taken from him

Listen to what Junaid’s lawyer has to say 👇

#FreeJunaidHafeez

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

#Pakistan: CPJ calls on Pakistani authorities to immediately release independent journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri and drop the cybercrime case filed against him over his commentary about the appointment of a senior counterterrorism official.

The national cybercrime agency detained Ghauri for allegedly violating Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which makes the dissemination of “fake or false” information a criminal offense. An Islamabad district court granted the agency three days’ physical remand of the journalist on September 6.

#PressFreedom #JournalismIsNotACrime

https://t.co/Vs7mzICpk6

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

We’re #hiring at CPJ! 🌏

Join us as Specialist Editor, Asia-Pacific and help shape content advancing press freedom across the region.

✍️ Write. Edit. Publish.
🌏 Remote | Asia-Pacific
🗓️ Deadline: September 20, 2026

Apply: https://t.co/kJsSFoAq9G

[Q @QindeelAzeem]

Junaid Hafeez’s mental health has collapsed after more than 12 years in solitary confinement

Arrested in 2013, sentenced to death in 2019, still waiting for his appeal.

My interview with his lawyer, senior advocate Saif-ul-Malook

#FreeJunaidHafeez

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

Join our team! CPJ is currently #hiring a Specialist Editor, Asia-Pacific, to write, edit, and publish a range of content aligned with CPJ’s press freedom mission and regional priorities. This remote role is based in the Asia-Pacific region.

🗓️ Deadline is September 20, 2026

Apply:
https://t.co/BKV5uEZpcG

[Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom]

CPJ, together with @RSF_inter and 19 other organizations, experts, and news leaders, call on Group of 20 leaders to ensure that “journalists and news organizations will be able to freely cover deliberations by representatives of the world’s largest economies, whose decisions have broad ramifications around the world.”

The public has a right to know.

Read more: https://t.co/gHutswnZNC

#G20Summit

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

#India: CPJ calls on West Bengal authorities to drop their investigation into two journalists and other unnamed staff at the Bengali-language newspaper Anandabazar Patrika, after police registered a criminal case against them on August 28 under laws concerning hate speech and insulting religious sentiment. The investigation follows criticism from the state’s chief minister, Suvendu Adhikari, who objected to a headline in the paper describing violence between student groups.

Journalists must be able to report on political violence and public unrest without facing retaliatory criminal complaints.

@SuvenduWB #PressFreedom #JournalismIsNotACrime

https://t.co/MUU6x85ofe