'Leave the country by 5 pm': Pakistan 'deports' foreign journalist seeking audience with Imran Khan

A British-American author and journalist Charles Glass, who had been trying to secure a meeting with incarcerated former PM Imran Khan, was on Wednesday told by law enforcement agencies in Pakistan that his visa had been cancelled and he had five hours to leave the country.

According to a Dawn report, citing sources, Glass was at the residence of Islamabad-based senior journalist Zahid Hussain when a large police contingent came visiting him around noon on Wednesday and asked him to leave by 5 pm.

A team led by an assistant superintendent of police (ASP) initially said they wanted to meet the foreign journalist and they then informed Glass that his visa had been cancelled, and after arguing for nearly an hour, the ASP reportedly told the journalist he had to leave the country by 5 pm, added the report.

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“Mr Glass wondered how he would secure a flight and said his luggage is still at (his lodgings). The ASP offered to accompany him to the hotel to collect his luggage and informed him that there was a flight to Abu Dhabi available at 4 pm, which he should take to leave the country. The ASP said he had a clear order to deport the journalist,” Dawn quoted sources as saying.

Sources said that Glass was initially taken to his lodgings to collect his luggage, and then deported to the Middle East.

Former aide of ex-PM Imran Khan Shahzad Akbar also mentioned on social media about the news.

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“There are reports of the deportation of British journalist Charles Glass who was visiting Pakistan to see @ImranKhanPTI at Adiala prison,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

There are reports of deportation of British journalist Charles Glass who was visiting Pakistan to see @ImranKhanPTI in Adiala prison.@JaneMarriottUK could you confirm deportation of a British citizen by Pakistani authorities? @FCDOGovUK @BBCBreaking

— Mirza Shahzad Akbar (@ShazadAkbar) July 31, 2024

Sources said that Glass had been trying to secure an interview with the incarcerated PTI founder and it was possible that his tourist visa was cancelled because of this.

Glass, 73, is an author, jo­­urnalist, broadcaster, and publisher who specialises in the Middle East and World War II. He has served pro­minent media organisations such as Newsweek, ABC TV, and The Tele­graph, among others, and currently works as a freelance journalist.

With inputs from agencies