New Delhi, May 15 -- Media in South Asia faces formidable challenges and the situation represents an even more perilous frontline. From May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025, 250 media rights violations against media workers across the South Asia region were reported.

Targeted killings of journalists rose dramatically as violence escalated, up from eight deaths in 2023-24 to 20 killings in 2024-25, with Pakistan leading the tally with seven journalists murdered, Bangladesh with six and India with five.

Bangladesh had the highest total number of violations amid its national wave of protests with at least 65 violations recorded, followed by Afghanistan with 48, Nepal with 42, and Pakistan with 34.

These are some of the dreadful examples cited i...