Radio Mashaal
Radio Mashaal is a trusted source of information in Pakistan’s tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan. It covers issues of local concern in an area where extremist propaganda is widespread.
Website page views
(2024)
Facebook video views
(2024)
Instagram video views
(2024)
YouTube video views
(2024)
About the Service
Radio Mashaal has engaged Pashto-speaking audiences, especially youth targeted for recruitment by the Taliban and militant groups, since 2010.
The Service continues to cover the influence of terrorist groups across the region, reporting on attacks and analyzing their impact on Pakistan’s government.
Mashaal is accessible to a growing audience via its website and social media platforms, ensuring its journalism reaches those in isolated or high-risk areas.
Through its call-in shows, the Service mitigates audience isolation.
Mashaal also provided crucial firsthand accounts and warnings during the devastating Khyber Pakhtunkhwa floods in August 2025.
Mashaal journalists document the stories of Afghan refugees awaiting resettlement and report on Islamabad’s large-scale deportation campaigns, amplifying the voices of those often unheard.
Reaching Audiences
Media Climate
Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks Pakistan 158th out of 180 countries.
In 2018, the government closed Radio Mashaal’s Islamabad bureau and blocked its websites.
Latest Updates
RFE/RL Relaunches Gandhara Website As One-Stop Shop For Afghanistan, Pakistan News
Since its inception in 2014, Gandhara has reflected the mission and journalistic standards of RFE/RL in its reporting and analysis about Afghanistan and Pakistan.
RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal Marks 10 Years Of Countering Extremism In Pakistan
Ten years since airing its first two-hour broadcast, RFE/RL’s Pashto-language service has stubbornly pursued its mission to provide an alternative to extremist propaganda.
RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal Marks Nearly A Decade Of Impact In Pakistan’s Tribal Regions
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) this week is marking almost a decade of reporting serving as a powerful alternative to extremist propaganda in Pakistan’s remote and restive tribal regions along…
Service Director
Amin Mudaqiq
Amin Mudaqiq is the Service Director of RFE/RL’s Pashto-language service to Pakistan’s tribal regions, known locally as Radio Mashaal. He previously served as Kabul Bureau chief for RFE/RL’s Afghan Service from 2004-2011. Prior to joining RFE/RL, Mudaqiq worked in the US consulate in Peshawar as an Information Assistant, and as editor of Ittilaat, the U.S. government’s Dari/Pashto publication.
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