Islamabad: US blogger and journalist Cynthia Ritchie has a valid visa until Aug 31 - and she has also applied for an extension, according to a report submitted by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
A Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Interior appeared before the court and submitted that all foreign nationals including Ritchie staying in Pakistan were given a visa extension till August 31 due to the coronavirus situation in the country.
He, however, informed the court a separate application has also been filed by the US blogger seeking an extension. The senior official of the ministry also brought to the court’s attention that there was no evidence of the US blogger’s involvement in any anti-state activity.
Ritchie was present in the courtroom during the hearing of the petition filed by an activist of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed.
He says she is a foreign national and has stayed in Pakistan without a valid visa. He has also sought her deportation from Pakistan on the grounds that she has maligned the PPP leadership with controversial posts on social media and is involved in anti-state activities.
In the last hearing on July 10, the IHC Chief Justice had directed the Interior Ministry to hear the complainant as well as the blogger and pass a speaking order in this matter.
The court while directing provision of a copy of the Interior ministry’s report to the complainant/petitioner fixed next Friday July 24 as the date for final arguments.
Allegations of rape and controversial posts
Ritchie has been in the news since June 5, 2020 when she accused former Interior Minister and PPP Senator Rehman Malik of raping her back in 2011 when the PPP was in power. She also accused ex-PM Yousuf Raza Gilani and ex-health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin of physically manhandling her.
She had also posted controversial tweets about the PPP leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto that prompted a number of the PPP activists filing petitions and seeking action against her.
PPP counsel to challenge report
The counsel for the petitioner, Sardar Latif Khosa, was not satisfied with the court’s order and made it clear that he would challenge the Interior Ministry’s report. “This is an attempt to mislead the court by the Secretary of the Interior Ministry,” he remarked.
The interior ministry’s report has tried to dismiss PPP’s plea as it says Ritchie has a visa and she’s not involved in any criminal activities, Khosa said. “We will prove the reality behind Ritchie and make sure that she’s deported.”
He added that his party had lost faith in the federal government which is why they had approached the court.
While talking to the media outside the IHC, Ritchie said she was surprised that the petitioner was absent from the court consistently. “In America, it’s compulsory for both the petitioner and the defendant to be present in court for every hearing,” she said.
