The global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Wednesday it was an "obscenity" for Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to say that press freedom was thriving in his country. During a recent visit to the United States, Khan had said talking about curbs on press freedom in Pakistan was a "joke". "It is clear that either you are very poorly informed, in which case you should urgently replace the people around you, or you are knowingly concealing the facts, which is very serious, given your responsibilities," wrote RSF Secretary-General, Christophe Deloire.
Given a recent surge in press freedom violations, which RSF enumerated in a statement, "you will appreciate that to talk of 'one of the freest presses in the world' is clearly tantamount to an obscenity," Deloire said. He urged Khan to "allow Pakistan's journalists to exercise their profession in complete safety and with complete independence. "The credibility of the Pakistani state and democracy is at stake," Deloire wrote.