Concern over Pak. 'no' to visa for Indian scribes

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed concern over the Pakistan Government's refusal to process visa applications from journalists of Indian descent.

Following some complaints, the CPJ, in a letter to the Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, said that the visa applications of Indian journalists, as well as journalists of Indian origin holding citizenship from Western countries, submitted in mid-September, were still awaiting approval. Officials at the Pakistan's High Commission in London said the Information Ministry office in Islamabad should clear their applications before they could be approved.

The few journalists of Indian descent, who had managed to acquire Pakistani visas, run the risk of being deported, it said. On October 25, Mr. Aditya Sinha, a reporter of the Hindustan Times, was ordered to leave Pakistan immediately. Mr. Sinha had obtained a 15-day visa extension from the Interior Ministry the previous week. Before putting him on the first available flight out of the country, a security official told Mr. Sinha, who holds a U.S. passport, ``You are a U.S. national, but on the inside you are an Indian,'' according to Mr. Sinha.

Pakistani officials have admitted privately that Indian journalists would not be allowed into the country. This restrictive policy has seriously impeded the Indian press, as well as international media companies.

The CPJ urged Gen. Musharraf to ensure that journalists were not barred from Pakistan on the basis of their nationality or ethnic background. It said Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteed the rights of all people ``to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers''.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Envoy to Russia hits out at Pak.
Next     : High import duties may hit Italian wine exports