Tel Aviv, Jan 21 Pakistan's human rights crisis is no longer a domestic problem as critics of the Pakistani state are being targetted in other parts of the world like Europe, North America, and Africa. Journalists, activists and former officials who believed they would be safe in exile have found intimidation, violence, and pressure following them in other nations. This practice is transnational repression and Pakistan has become one of its most troubling practitioners, a report has detailed.
"Transnational repression is not about isolated threats or rogue actors. It is about states extending their coercive power across borders to silence voices they cannot control at home. In Pakistan’s case, this strategy has expanded alongside growing military dominance, legal immunity for top officials, and the erosion of judicial independence. What follows is a clear picture of how this system works, why it has intensified, and why the international community is now paying closer attention," Michael Arizanti, a seasoned writer and expert on Middle East Affairs, wrote in The Times of Israel.
Transnational repression carried out by Pakistan is not subtle anymore, Arizanti asserted citing that one of the most shocking incidents was the murder of a journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya in 2022 after he fled Pakistan following repeated threats. His death conveyed a message that distance provides no guarantee of safety. Pakistan's former government advisor Shahzad Akbar survived an acid attack at his residence in United Kingdom in 2023 while his brother was kidnapped around the same time in Pakistan.
Other prominent Pakistani military regime critics, including filmmakers, journalists, and political commentators have also reported facing threats, surveillance, and harassment in the US, Europe, and Africa. In several cases, dissident does not face direct pressure, however, their family that lives in Pakistan have to bear the brunt. This method makes loved ones of dissidents turn into hostages, forcing silence through fear.
"Human-rights organisations have been documenting this trend for years. Freedom House has identified Pakistan among governments responsible for physical acts of transnational repression, including assaults, abductions, and forced returns. Its reports show that these actions are increasingly coordinated, targeting critics who expose military abuses, enforced disappearances, or corruption," Arizanti wrote in The Times of Israel.
"Human Rights Watch has repeatedly criticised Pakistan’s use of counterterrorism laws to justify enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings — especially in Balochistan. Amnesty International has highlighted Pakistan’s growing use of digital surveillance and censorship tools, often purchased from foreign companies, to monitor critics abroad and intimidate their families at home. Together, these findings point to a system — not isolated misconduct — in which repression is normalised, bureaucratised, and exported," he added.
The statements of victims are now heard at higher political levels in other nations. In 2025, the US Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held hearings on Pakistan’s repression, which included first hand accounts from exiled critics. Members of the UK Parliament criticised threats against Pakistani dissidents and called on institutions to safeguard them from foreign intimidation. On January 29, the US Senate is scheduled to hold its first formal briefing focused on Pakistan’s transnational repression, with agenda including political prisoners, digital censorship, and using overseas intimidation as an instrument of state policy, the report mentioned.
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