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Journalism of Courage
Pakistan ordered the expulsion of The New York Timess Islamabad bureau chief,hours before the landmark polls in the country,accusing him of undesirable activities,the newspaper has said.
Pakistans Interior Ministry has ordered the expulsion of veteran journalist Declan Walsh on the eve of national elections,the newspaper said Friday. The Times has strongly protested the move and is seeking his reinstatement.
The ministry did not give any detailed explanation for the expulsion order,which was delivered by police officers in the form of a two-sentence letter to the bureau chief at 12:30 am (local time) on Thursday at his home.
It is informed that your visa is hereby canceled in view of your undesirable activities, the order stated. You are therefore advised to leave the country within 72 hours.
Walsh,39,is a veteran correspondent who has lived and worked in Pakistan for nine years,most of it for The Guardian newspaper of Britain.
He was hired by The Times in January 2012,and has written extensively about the countrys violent political convulsions,Islamist insurgency and sometimes tense relations with the US,which has been conducting drone attacks on militants in Pakistans border areas with Afghanistan.
Jill Abramson,the newspapers executive editor,expressed concern about the order in a letter of protest to Pakistans interior minister Malik Muhammad Habib Khan,describing Walsh as a reporter of integrity who has at all times offered balanced,nuanced and factual reporting on Pakistan.
She asked the minister to reinstate Walshs visa.
The accusation of undesirable activities,she wrote,is vague and unsupported,and Walsh has received no further explanation of any alleged wrongdoing.
The timing of the order was also a surprise,she wrote,coming as Pakistan is holding national elections that are regarded as an important democratic milestone.
