Several of Pakistan’s most-watched news channels, including Geo News, ARY News, and Samaa TV, faced a serious security breach on Sunday evening, 1 March 2026. Viewers across the country were left confused when regular programming was suddenly interrupted by unauthorized messages.
These disruptions happened shortly after Iftar (the meal served at sunset to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan) and continued into the high-traffic 9 pm news bulletins, which is when these channels usually see their largest global audiences.
ہم اپنےناظرین کو آگاہ کرنا چاہتے ہیں،،، کہ جیو نیوز ،،،جو پاکستان کے سیٹلائٹ ،،،پاک سیٹ پر ہے،،،،اس کو کسی جانب سے پچھلے چوبیس گھنٹوں سے ہیک کرنے کی اور اس کی نشریات میں رکاوٹ ڈالنے کی کوشش کی جارہی ہے،،،اور اب کچھ دیر سے جیو نیوز کی نشریات کو مسلسل رکاوٹ کا سامنا ہے،جیو نیوز…
— Geo News Urdu (@geonews_urdu) March 1, 2026
Translation:
“We want to inform our viewers that Geo News, which is on Pakistan’s satellite PakSat, has been the target of hacking attempts for the past twenty-four hours by an unknown party. There have been efforts to disrupt its broadcasts. For some time now, Geo News transmissions have been facing continuous interruptions. The Geo News screen was hacked, and an inappropriate message was aired. This situation has no connection with Geo News. Geo News requests that the relevant authorities take notice of this situation, take immediate action, and bring those responsible to justice.”
What happened during the broadcast?
According to multiple Pakistani media reports, the hackers managed to take control of the satellite beams and live feeds, displaying text unrelated to the channels. The messages were aimed at the Pakistan Armed Forces, with some text specifically telling citizens to stand up against the military, blaming the institution for controlling and “destroying” the country.
According to reports from several accounts on X.com, the messages were quite direct, claiming that a certain faction of the army had brought destruction upon the country. While some initial reports suggested an Afghan hacker might be behind the targeting of ARY News, the full scale of the breach suggests a more coordinated effort.
𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗔𝗿𝗺𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀
Well-known Pakistani TV channels' screens, including Geo News, ARY News and Sama TV, were reportedly hacked, with anti–Pakistan Army messages intermittently appearing on them.… https://t.co/8R67HTc1ql pic.twitter.com/Pp26VXmZjS— Afghan Analyst (@AfghanAnalyst2) March 1, 2026
A Chain Reaction
Although there has been no official word from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting or the media regulator (PEMRA), local reports suggest Pakistan has hit back with its own cyberattacks, including DDoS attacks.
Shortly after the hacked Pakistani channels were restored, a group called Pakistan Cyber Force allegedly hacked the Indian channel ABP News and the Food Odisha website in retaliation. They reportedly used the live feed to play speeches from the Pakistani Army Chief. The original attack on Pakistani media also affected websites in 19 different countries, where hackers allegedly ran unauthorised Google advertisement campaigns.
Response from the Channels
Geo News’ Managing Editor, Azhar Abbas, explained that they had been fighting off hacking attempts for nearly 24 hours before the intruders finally broke through. He clarified that the channel is broadcast via the PAKSAT satellite and that the harmful messages shown on screen were entirely the work of outside elements.
Videos of the hijacked transmissions quickly went viral on YouTube, showing the moment the news was cut off. As per the latest updates, authorities are now investigating the incident to prevent such a security lapse from happening again.
Waqas
