Pakistan refuses visa to The Hindu Editor

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 7 September 2012

Praveen Swami, the Resident Editor of The Hindu, was denied a visa by the Pakistan High Commission. The cancellation occurred despite a stamped visa, as the commission requested the newspaper nominate a different journalist.

Summary

NEW DELHI: The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has refused visa to Praveen Swami, Resident Editor of The Hindu newspaper, The Indian Express reported Friday. In a post on their website, the Express said Swami was a member of the media delegation accompanying External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Pakistan for the foreign minister-level talks. According to the website, Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor of The Hindu, said the Pakistan High Commission communicated to him that if the newspaper nominates someone else, he or she will be granted a visa. “This was an offer we refused. It is not acceptable for anyone to dictate who we can send to cover a story,” Varadarajan said. A visa was stamped on Swami’s passport but then it was crossed and cancelled, the Express said.

KEY POINTS:

• Pakistan High Commission refused visa to Praveen Swami
• Editor Siddharth Varadarajan confirmed the refusal
• Visa was stamped but later cancelled
• The Hindu declined to nominate another journalist
• The incident raises concerns about media freedom.