Repressive regimes frequently resort to violence, intimidation, and technology to silence dissent beyond their borders. A report published by Freedom House on 4 February 2021 noted that “transnational repression” has become increasingly common. It found that 31 states had physically attacked their citizens living abroad since 2014, while millions more have faced harassment, digital surveillance, and smear campaigns. Typical tactics include withholding travel documents, denying consular services, and threatening family members back home.
Pakistan is one such state that has gone to great lengths to harass and intimidate its diaspora. In January 2021, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in an attempt to shut down the website www.trueislam.com, threatened a group of Ahmadiyyas in the United States with prison sentences of up to ten years under Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law. Officials went further, warning that their relatives in Pakistan could also be charged with blasphemy—an offence carrying the death penalty. American attorney Brett Williamson, who represents TrueIslam.com, condemned the PTA’s move as “a malicious attempt to chill free speech and expression”. On 14 January 2021, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks described Pakistan’s action as “very concerning”, adding that Islamabad was attempting to export its repressive cybercrime laws to curtail freedom of speech and religion in the United States.
Another disturbing example came on 9 March 2021, when Iqbal Zafar, a Pakistani national residing in Spain, attempted to immolate himself outside Pakistan’s Consulate in Barcelona. Zafar alleged that his family had been attacked and tortured by Pakistani authorities in his hometown, and his desperate act was a protest against state atrocities. In response, the Consul General issued a press release dismissing Zafar as mentally unstable and of criminal background—a clumsy attempt at damage control that further exposed the regime’s tactics.
Similarly, in Japan, Pakistan’s embassy has been accused of harassing Rana Abid Hussain, President of the Pakistan–Japan Business Council. The embassy reportedly implicated him in a fabricated case of forging shipping documents, allegedly in retaliation for his criticism of embassy officials and state institutions on social media.
More chillingly, two prominent dissidents died in suspicious circumstances in 2020. In December, Karima Baloch—a noted human rights activist campaigning for Baloch rights and against enforced disappearances—was found dead in Toronto. Her family insisted foul play could not be ruled out. Karima had fled Pakistan after repeated raids on her home, the killing of her uncle, and threats to abandon activism. Earlier, in April 2020, journalist Sajid Hussain Baloch was discovered dead in a river in Sweden. Having fled Pakistan after threats to his life, Sajid had written extensively about human rights abuses in Balochistan. Activist Gulalai Ismail, herself in exile in the US, publicly called for Pakistan’s embassy in Sweden to be investigated for complicity in his abduction and murder, noting a growing pattern of embassy-facilitated attacks on exiled dissidents.
Extraterritorial repression is not new for Pakistan, but technology has given it unprecedented reach. Social media and digital platforms, once hailed as tools of empowerment, have become instruments of surveillance and intimidation. By weaponising online networks, Pakistani authorities have extended their coercive apparatus across borders, targeting critics with greater ease than ever before.
The responsibility now lies with host countries. Democracies must protect the fundamental rights of exiled dissidents within their jurisdictions and hold rogue states accountable when they attempt to export repression. Failure to do so risks emboldening regimes like Pakistan to continue silencing dissent abroad with impunity.