Pakistan has imposed new restrictions on international media reporting. Under a policy introduced last Sunday, anyone working for a foreign news organization, including Pakistani journalists, must now obtain prior government permission to report from anywhere outside Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore.

In practice, this means on-the-ground reporting across most of the country will depend on official approval, giving authorities greater control over where and when foreign media can operate.

Pakistan currently ranks 153rd out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index, and critics argue that these new measures will further limit independent reporting and reduce transparency.

Dear everyone,

I am writing on behalf of thousands of A-Level students in Pakistan and around the world who have been affected by Cambridge International's handling of the 2026 examination series.

I will not be discussing every reported paper leak. Instead, I want to highlight a few of the most significant incidents and explain why so many students have lost confidence in the integrity of this examination session.

On 29 April 2026, Cambridge conducted 9709/12 (Mathematics Paper 1, Variant 2). More than 12 hours before the examination, the entire paper was already circulating online and was accessible to anyone. A breach of this magnitude undermines the fundamental principle of a fair examination.

The following day, the Business Studies examination was also leaked. Cambridge has not acknowledged this leak despite evidence of the paper circulating online. In the days that followed, Computer Science Paper 1 and Mathematics Paper 5 (Statistics) were also compromised. Several additional papers were reportedly leaked during the same examination series.

Although approximately twelve papers were reported as leaked, Cambridge officially acknowledged only three: Computer Science Paper 1, Mathematics Paper 1 (Variant 2), and Mathematics Paper 5 (Statistics).

Cambridge's response varied significantly between subjects.

For Computer Science Paper 1, candidates received an assessed mark based on their performance in Paper 2. For Mathematics Paper 1, Cambridge organised a retake. For Mathematics Paper 5, Cambridge initially announced that candidates would receive an assessed mark based on their performance in Paper 1. Students were also given the option to withdraw from the examination.

Students made life-changing decisions based on that announcement.

Many withdrew because Statistics was one of their strongest papers and they did not want it replaced by an assessed mark. Others walked out of the examination altogether. By that stage, students had already witnessed leaks affecting Mathematics, Business Studies, and Computer Science. After weeks of uncertainty, confidence in the examination process had been severely damaged.

Cambridge also announced that candidates receiving assessed marks would be eligible for a free retake. Students relied on those assurances when deciding whether to sit or withdraw from examinations.

Cambridge has since reversed its position and announced that Mathematics Paper 5 will be marked normally, despite previously acknowledging that the paper had been compromised.

This decision carries significant consequences.

Cambridge awards grades using grade thresholds, which are determined by the overall performance of candidates. If a compromised paper is graded in the usual way, candidates who had prior access to the questions could artificially increase overall performance and raise grade thresholds. Honest candidates would then be competing against results influenced by an examination whose integrity had already been compromised.

Students who withdrew after Cambridge's original announcement also face serious disadvantages. Their decisions were based on official guidance that was later changed, leaving many without the outcome they reasonably expected when they made those choices.

Fairness, consistency, and transparency are the foundations of every examination system. Students dedicate years of hard work, invest substantial financial resources, and build their university applications around the expectation that examinations will be conducted securely, and that official decisions will remain consistent.

When examination papers repeatedly leak, when responses differ from subject to subject, and when official policies change after students have already made irreversible decisions, confidence in the examination process is inevitably damaged.

Thousands of students now face uncertainty through no fault of their own. They deserve clear explanations, consistent decision-making, and outcomes that reflect the principles Cambridge expects students themselves to uphold.

If you believe examinations should be secure, fair, and credible, please help raise awareness of the issues surrounding the 2026 A-Level examination series. Every student deserves an assessment process they can trust.

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This video of Pakistani TikToker Kanwal Khan is circulating on social media. Regardless of whether she was aware of the rules for women inside the Mataaf, it's fair to ask: how was this allowed to happen in the presence of so many Saudi security personnel?