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Pakistan late on Tuesday asked the two Indian journalists stationed in Islamabad to leave the country within a week. The Indian government has criticized the move, calling it a retrograde step which would affect any confidence-building measures between the two rivals and nuclear-armed neighbors. The civilian government in Pakistan has been having a strenuous relationship with its powerful military regarding its stance towards India.
In a similar move last year, the Pakistani government had asked New York Times Reporter Declan Walsh to leave the country; Walsh has not been allowed to go back since. The Hindu’s Meena Menon and The Press Trust of India’s Snehesh Alex Philip both received letters late on Tuesday night, telling them that their visas will not be renewed. No reason was given in the letters to the journalists, who were in Pakistan for less than a year.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesmanSyed Akbaruddin said, “It is regrettable and unfortunate that the two Indian correspondents in Pakistan have been asked to leave prematurely and suddenly only a few months after their arrival there.Not allowing independent journalists to function is a retrograde step, especially as free flow of information between India and Pakistan has long been recognized as an important confidence building measure.”
Indian journalists in Pakistan have a lot more restrictions placed on them than other foreign journalists.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has repeatedly pledged to improve the freedom of press and said publicly that he wants relations with India to improve. However, Pakistan’s military is deeply suspicious of both India and journalists. The Pakistani army is considered to be resistant to talks with India while both parties disagree on intractable issues like the status of the disputed state Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they were split up when they gained independence in 1947. They have a reciprocal deal which allows for two journalists from each country to be stationed in its neighbor’s capital. In recent years, Pakistan has become an increasingly deadly place for journalists. However, the threat Pakistani journalists’ face is much greater than that faced by foreign journalists. Since 2008, at least 34 Pakistani journalists have been killed in their country for their work – only one killer has been convicted till date.