Pakistan had not issued a formal announcement banning the available report, despite claims that access to the outlet’s English-language website had been restricted.
Pakistani internet users said on social media that they were unable to open the English-language site.
Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry criticized the available report’s coverage of elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the name Islamabad uses for the territory it administers.
The ministry alleged that reports from selected polling stations and selected interviewees had misrepresented the election and voting process.
It described the coverage as ‘yellow journalism’ and alleged that it sought to undermine the credibility of the election and the voters’ verdict.
The ministry also said voters had rejected disorder and coercion in the election.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was concerned about obstacles to reporting, internet and telecommunications restrictions, and alleged harassment of journalists in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The group said independent journalist Razi Tahir and his colleague Mohammad Saif had been missing since August 1 after people wearing police uniforms allegedly took them from their Islamabad office.
It called on Pakistani authorities to disclose whether the two men were in state custody, ensure legal process and release them if they were being arbitrarily detained.
The group further said journalist Raja Ikram had been detained and later released, and alleged that partial internet shutdowns and severe telecommunications restrictions had been in place in the territory since June 5.