Pakistan asks two Indian journalists to leave the country by 20 May

Pakistan asks two Indian journalists to leave the country by 20 May

New Delhi: Pakistan has told two Indian journalists based in Islamabad to leave the country by 20 May without giving an explanation for the expulsion, a person close to the development said on Wednesday.

The Press Trust of India news agency and The Hindu newspaper have a journalist each stationed in Islamabad.

Pakistan does not have any journalist based in India at present, according to Indian government officials. The two reciprocal slots for Pakistani journalists—one for the official Associated Press of Pakistan news agency and the other for Radio Pakistan or Pakistan Television—have been lying vacant since 2011.

It is speculated that a cash crunch—rather than any tensions between the two countries—is the reason these posts are lying vacant.

The two Indian journalists were asked, in writing, to leave Islamabad last week but the Indian High Commission had intervened and was trying to find a solution to the problem, the person cited above said.

A Pakistani diplomat based in New Delhi said the Pakistan High Commission was unaware of the move and the reasons for it.