US looking to work with new Pak govt but expresses concern on press freedom

The US department also expressed concerns about the constraints put on Pakistani press ahead of the Pakistani election. The US State dept told WION, "We are concerned by reports of constraints placed on freedoms of expression, association, and the press leading up to the elections."

The Pakistani press has seen censorship in the run-up to elections. The country's most popular newspaper --Dawn's distribution was disrupted after an interview with Nawaz Sharif in which he said non-state actors in Pakistan were responsible for 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Reporters Without Borders issued a release which said,"the unwarranted blocking of the distribution of one of the main independent newspapers has yet again shown that the military are determined to maintain their grip on access to news and information in Pakistan".

In another case, a Pakistani journalist and a known critic of the military, Gul Bukhari was abducted and later freed. Earlier this year unofficial instructions were given to cable tv operators in Pakistan to stop carrying Geo News, a channel who was believed to be giving more air time to former PM of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan is ranked 139th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders's 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

In the run-up to the big event on 25th July, Indian Media wasn't given any visa to cover Pakistan elections and the Pakistan high commission in Delhi told the media that they haven't got any "permission from Islamabad."

Every major news channel in India had applied for visas to cover Pakistani elections. Even Imran Khan, in his press statement after the announcement of the election results, commented on Indian media and said he has been "portrayed by Indian media... As a bollywood villain."

S Venkat Narayan. President of the Foreign Correspondent's club in Delhi reacting on the development said, "Very disappointing that Pakistan High Commission is not issuing visas to Indian media to cover Pakistan elections. How can relations between India and Pakistan get better if media representatives are not allowed to cover what are claimed to be democratic elections?".

Many have been saying that this was the dirtiest election the country has seen in its history.