For decades, Pakistan’s national debates about freedom have been driven either by political rhetoric or international rankings. One side insists the country is moving toward greater openness, the other argues civic space is shrinking under institutional pressure.
Between those competing narratives, ordinary Pakistanis have rarely been asked a simple question: what does freedom actually feel like in their daily lives?
The newly released State of Freedom Report: Pakistan 2026 attempts to answer that question for the first time in the country’s 78-year history. Produced by MISHAL Pakistan and presented at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, the report is more than another governance study. It is effectively Pakistan’s first internal audit of its own freedoms, based on nationwide surveys, constitutional analysis, institutional benchmarking, and expert consultation.
And its findings expose one of the most important contradictions shaping modern Pakistan.
Pakistanis increasingly feel free as individuals, but increasingly powerless as citizens.
That distinction defines the entire report.
According to the survey, 77 percent of respondents believe they are free to choose their profession or occupation. Seventy-five percent feel businesses can operate without excessive government interference, while an equal number believe women are gaining greater opportunities in society. Even religious freedom scored relatively high, with 65 percent expressing confidence in their ability to practice faith freely.
These numbers reflect a society where personal ambition, entrepreneurship, and social mobility continue pushing forward despite economic and political turbulence. Pakistan’s expanding digital economy, freelance culture, private enterprise sector, and youth-driven aspirations are clearly reshaping parts of society from the ground up.
But the optimism collapses the moment freedom enters the political arena.
Only 37 percent believe political parties can function effectively. Just 20 percent positively rated the right to protest and assemble. Most strikingly, only 11 percent expressed strong confidence in protections for freedom of speech.
That single figure may define the report more than any other.
The gap between occupational freedom and speech freedom reveals how Pakistanis increasingly distinguish between private opportunity and public expression. Citizens feel relatively secure when pursuing careers, building businesses, or improving their personal lives. Yet they feel deeply vulnerable when confronting institutions, questioning authority, or participating in civic dissent.
In other words, freedom exists comfortably where the state is distant, but weakens dramatically where power is directly challenged.
The report also exposes how economic anxiety is quietly becoming Pakistan’s largest national pressure point. Only 25 percent of respondents said they feel financially empowered or economically secure. Inflation, energy pressures, unemployment fears, and exchange-rate instability continue to erode public confidence in upward mobility.
This economic insecurity exists despite Pakistan’s entrepreneurial culture remaining remarkably resilient.
Small and medium enterprises account for nearly 90 percent of businesses in the country, while Pakistan’s IT and freelance economy generates billions annually. Millions of young Pakistanis are attempting to build futures through technology, online work, and private enterprise rather than relying on traditional state structures.
That shift matters politically.
Historically, state institutions dominated both opportunity and authority in Pakistan. Today, technology and private-sector growth are decentralizing opportunity faster than governance systems can adapt.
The digital section of the report captures this transformation perfectly.
Pakistan now possesses one of the region’s largest digital ecosystems, with over 190 million cellular subscriptions, more than 110 million internet users, and tens of millions active on social media platforms. Information consumption has fundamentally changed. Traditional newspapers and radio have largely faded from influence, replaced by Facebook, WhatsApp, X, and internet-based information ecosystems.
This digital expansion has created extraordinary opportunity, but also intensified battles over information control.
The report notes thousands of digital account takedown requests made to global platforms between 2025 and 2026, exposing increasing friction between state regulation and digital freedoms. Citizens now experience freedom not only through constitutional rights, but through algorithms, platform moderation, connectivity, and digital access.
The battleground for liberty has shifted from streets and newspapers to servers and smartphones.
At the same time, Pakistan’s justice system appears dangerously overwhelmed.
More than 2.25 million pending court cases remain trapped inside the judicial system, while prisons across major provinces operate far beyond capacity. Delayed justice continues undermining public trust, particularly for vulnerable groups, including women facing domestic violence and cyber harassment.
No democracy can sustainably protect rights if justice itself becomes inaccessible.
The report’s findings on women’s empowerment also reflect a mixed national reality.
Pakistanis increasingly recognize women’s visibility and participation across media, education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship. But beneath those gains remain structural inequalities in workforce participation, digital access, political representation, and higher education retention.
A woman excluded from digital connectivity today is not simply disconnected socially. She is increasingly excluded economically, politically, and institutionally as well.
Perhaps the most politically sensitive finding in the report concerns institutional trust.
National defense institutions emerged as the most trusted entity in the survey, far ahead of political parties, civil society organizations, and regulatory bodies. That trust gap reflects a deeper governance reality inside Pakistan: public confidence increasingly flows toward institutions perceived as stable and functional, while skepticism dominates perceptions of civilian governance structures.
This is not merely a political observation. It is a warning sign for the democratic system itself.
No state can maintain long-term political stability if citizens believe institutions of representation are weaker than institutions of control.
The report does not portray Pakistan as collapsing, nor does it portray the country as fully thriving. Instead, it presents a far more uncomfortable reality: Pakistan is evolving unevenly.
Its economy is digitizing faster than its governance. Its youth population is modernizing faster than institutions can absorb. Its citizens are becoming more connected, more entrepreneurial, and more ambitious, while simultaneously feeling excluded from policymaking, justice, and political participation.
That contradiction is Pakistan’s defining challenge moving forward.
The country’s future will not be decided solely through GDP growth, elections, or infrastructure projects. It will depend on whether institutions can translate constitutional promises into lived public trust.
Because freedom is no longer judged by slogans.
It is judged by whether citizens feel heard, protected, economically secure, and capable of influencing the systems that govern them.
Pakistan’s first national freedom report may not provide all the answers. But it has forced the country to confront the right questions.
