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A grab of Rezaul Hasan Laskar's twitter page.
In a move reminiscent of when India and Pakistan would play tit-for-tat at the drop of a hat, the lone Indian reporter in Islamabad - Press Trust of India's Rezaul Hasan Laskar - has been summarily booted out of the country. Only glitch, there is no Pakistani journalist in New Delhi, in fact there hasn't been one since 2011. So why has Laskar been shown the door? Well, even he doesn't seem to know and if his tweets are any indication, neither does the Pakistani government.
So, this is how the story goes. According to Laskar, he got a letter saying your visa expires on so-and-so date, so you must leave by so-and-so date. From his tweets it seems his deadline is June 29. The argument being extended by the Pakistani government (or so we assume) is that Laskar's lived in Islamabad for more than 5 years, while protocol dictates he should have left after 3 years. There is some confusion here too. "The govt was in such a hurry to throw me out they initially didn't even bother to find out if I had a valid visa (which I didn't)", tweeted Laskar.
Also, by convention, a PTI reporter leaves when his replacement arrives. There is none scheduled for Laskar and he too had replaced a reporter who did two stints in Pakistan (they didn't mind that).
The move reeks of mistrust and considering the only time something like this would happen was during war times (or heightened proxy wars), it has set tongues wagging. Also, the move runs contrary to newly anointed PM Nawaz Sharif's many noises about improving relations with India.
But surprisingly, there hasn't been much of an outcry from the local press in Pakistan or for that matter in India either. Considering the howls of protest following New York Times' Islamabad bureau chief Declan Walsh's eviction just before the Pakistan elections in May this year, one wonders, maybe desis aren't exotic enough.
Laskar, on his part, has been tweeting his story and seems quite hassled about who will take care of his cat and the dogs he leaves behind.
And even he isn't happy about the radio silence on his expulsion:
@Rezhasan: So I guess outrage on expulsion of journos is only reserved for reps of Western publications/media outlets?
And just so that we don't feel too bad, and shake our heads secretly thinking, "they are just like us", the Pakistani government invited him to:
Talk about irony: Got a call from @CM_Shehbaz's office to attend book launch by Tehmina Durrani on June 28 (day before I leave)@Rezhasan
So, this is how the story goes. According to Laskar, he got a letter saying your visa expires on so-and-so date, so you must leave by so-and-so date. From his tweets it seems his deadline is June 29. The argument being extended by the Pakistani government (or so we assume) is that Laskar's lived in Islamabad for more than 5 years, while protocol dictates he should have left after 3 years. There is some confusion here too. "The govt was in such a hurry to throw me out they initially didn't even bother to find out if I had a valid visa (which I didn't)", tweeted Laskar.
Also, by convention, a PTI reporter leaves when his replacement arrives. There is none scheduled for Laskar and he too had replaced a reporter who did two stints in Pakistan (they didn't mind that).
The move reeks of mistrust and considering the only time something like this would happen was during war times (or heightened proxy wars), it has set tongues wagging. Also, the move runs contrary to newly anointed PM Nawaz Sharif's many noises about improving relations with India.
But surprisingly, there hasn't been much of an outcry from the local press in Pakistan or for that matter in India either. Considering the howls of protest following New York Times' Islamabad bureau chief Declan Walsh's eviction just before the Pakistan elections in May this year, one wonders, maybe desis aren't exotic enough.
Laskar, on his part, has been tweeting his story and seems quite hassled about who will take care of his cat and the dogs he leaves behind.
And even he isn't happy about the radio silence on his expulsion:
@Rezhasan: So I guess outrage on expulsion of journos is only reserved for reps of Western publications/media outlets?
And just so that we don't feel too bad, and shake our heads secretly thinking, "they are just like us", the Pakistani government invited him to:
Talk about irony: Got a call from @CM_Shehbaz's office to attend book launch by Tehmina Durrani on June 28 (day before I leave)@Rezhasan
