By Asfandiyar
Amidst state censorship, a resilient network of ethnic Pashtun storytellers challenges the dominant narratives, proving that the most marginalised voices can dismantle labels and reclaim their own narrative.
In Pakistan’s deeply securitized tribal belt and North-western province, media has long served the interests of power, not the people. The dominant narratives shaped by both state control and global media dependency on official sources has consistently portrayed the Pashtun community as violent extremists. But now, a quiet media revolution is taking place. Freelance journalism, driven by social media platforms, digital publications, and a growing community of tech-literate indigenous reporters, is giving Pashtun journalists the tools and platforms to challenge long-standing state narratives.
From Trend Followers to Trendsetters
Samiullah Afridi, a freelance journalist from North Waziristan, remembers the time when even mentioning a military operation in his hometown could result in arrest or worse. “There was a blackout on our lives,” he says. “We couldn’t report what was happening in our own streets unless it fit the official line.”
Afridi, like dozens of other Pashtun journalists, began turning to freelance reporting—contributing to international news outlets. “After interacting with prominent global journalists, I realised to be the part of a trendsetter,” Samiullah exclaimed. He founded the first regional magazine and platform, Voice of KP, which brings decentralised narratives of the common public. This mode of journalism has given rise to a generation of independent storytellers who are no longer bound by institutional editorial control or censorship.
In the heart of Pashtun region, however, a more prominent initiative has been taken by two freelance journalists. A platform ‘The Tribal News Network (TNN)’ was established in 2011 to address the information vacuum in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a semi-autonomous region in Pakistan. Initially, it focused on the least integrated tribal belt, but with the expansion of the state’s draconian laws, the platform provided support to aspiring journalists and activists in other parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa too. “Our sole aim is to facilitate the modern-day storytellers in our society to bring forth factual data stretching our thousands of years of history,” pointed Adnan Mohmand, the project management officer of the platform. “To strengthen this journey, we have inked projects with platforms such as Deutsche Well Akademie and beyond.”
This transformation has coincided with the growing flexibility and reach of freelance journalism in South Asia. Freelancers, unbound by the editorial restrictions of mainstream Pakistani outlets, have leveraged global digital platforms, cross-border networks, and non-traditional storytelling formats to offer a drastically different view of life in the tribal areas.
The Use of Modern Social Integrated Tools
One of the key forces behind this shift is the increasing use digital AI-generated encrypted content distribution tools. The technological ingenuity of these journalists transforms freelancing from a survival tactic into a form of guerrilla warfare. This strengthens the notion that for bypassing traditional censorship, the use of technology is not gimmicky; it is strategic. In a region where bylines can become death warrants, anonymity becomes a shield for truth-telling.
Let’s say the initiative ‘Uplifting Visions’, started by a regional journalist with the support of international colleagues, preferred working offline. The platform was initiated with the intention to support human rights activists and budding journalists in the region. But the hybrid regime and lack of attributable sources compelled its commitment to transcend alternatives. Currently, the platform trains twenty-five journalists annually and provides logistical support for coverage in northern Pakistan.
Yet, the rise of social platforms has also amplified hate speech against the Pashtuns. According to a study, the use of social media has played an important role in the promotion of anti-Pashtun movements. Yet, influencers like Arshad Khan have joined hands to tackle this challenge. Khan, a journalist-turned-social influencer, founded J91 media and Marketing Company which promotes customs and norms of the archaic and indigenous Pashtuns.
Breaking the Shackles of Traditions: Women as Leaders
According to a 2023 research study by Media Matters for Democracy, roughly 3 per cent of women journalists in Pakistan are able to reach leadership roles in the mainstream media, while 60 per cent of them are not receiving the desired annual pay rises in their salaries.
Similarly, a study by the Wilson Centre titled ‘More Women in Media’ documents that less than 55 of Pakistan’s journalists are women. Harsh laws and cultural norms also barred many from field reporting, with many working without bylines due to fear and pressure. But digital freelance spaces offer a way out and has transformed journalism for women.
Take the case of Jamaima Afridi, who aspired to be the first national female cricketer from the region. In order to change the fate of her colleagues, she preferred burying her dreams and collaborating globally as an advocate of change. Her collaborations with Amnesty International have become central to the human rights movement in the region.
The initiative of Zarifa, a 24-year-old from North Waziristan, perfectly portrays the shift in the narratives and priorities. Zarifa initiated the first community radio ‘Radio Bajaur’ in a shipping-container studio, and mainly works with freelance journalists, rather than hiring a permanent staff. “They say we’re voiceless. But you’re hearing me now,” said Zarifa. The initiative, once considered isolated and a waste of capital, is embedded in a network of over 200 Pashtun journalists spread across Pakistan’s tribal regions, most of them displaced by conflicts and a War on Terror.
The Cost of Change: Threats, Surveillance, and Death
Being a journalist in Pakistan is dangerous, with over 50 reporters killed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Tribal areas alone since 2001.
Pakistan currently ranks 158th/180 states in terms of press freedom. With the rise of a hybrid democratic and authoritarianism regime, the country continues to criminalize independent journalism through numerous parliamentary legislations. Among these, the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) have been used as primary pillars to suppress free press.
Pashtun journalists have been disproportionately targeted under these laws whenever they raise a red flag against the systematic barriers. It is because freelance journalists lack organisational support and their harassment becomes a political necessity.
Take my case, for instance, as a journalist making international collaborations on regional issues. My investigative project on refugee rights was nominated for the DW Akademie ‘Beyond Boarders conference’ in Chiang Mai, Thailand. However, the critical and investigative nature of my reporting led to online harassment, threats of arrest, and informal interrogations at the airports.
These incidents often gain international attention, with a majority of journalists invited global fora to shed lights on events and share their stories.
As Pakistan navigates its path to the future, one thing is clear: the days of uncontested state narratives in the Pashtun belt are over. It is now up to the regional stakeholders to decide how they protect and professionalise this movement without co-opting it.
Because in the hands of indigenous storytellers, journalism is both a struggle for survival and a resistance.
