Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani on Monday announced that he would approach the federal government to get lifted the years-old ban imposed by India and Pakistan to restrict the stationing of journalists in the two countries.
The journalists from Karachi and Mumbai press clubs have decided to form a joint committee to lobby governments in the two countries on facilitating the travel of media persons to each other’s countries.
“These are the momentous decisions, said The Press Club, Mumbai (TPC-M) president Gurbir Singh, who is leading a 14-member delegation of Indian journalists in a weeklong tour to Pakistan.
Durrani seconded as Singh said the speaker agreed to forward a resolution to be jointly adopted by Karachi Press Club and The Press Club of Mumbai to demand the governments in the two neighboring countries to relax their policies on journalists’ movement across the Line of Control (LOC).
“We would approach the federal government on facilitating the journalists,” the speaker told reporters at Sindh Assembly visited by Indian media persons who visited the historic building Monday morning.
Jatin Desai, Muhammed Wajihuddin, Preeti Sompura, Pragati Bankhele, Sachin Dave, Norma Astrid Godinho, Joel Rebello, Ramesh B Mana, Jyoti Punwani Sakarikar, Ketan Tanna, Santosh Andhale, Sahil Joshi and Vingnesh Lyer arrived Pakistan last Saturday.
The TPC-M president said the two press clubs had decided to constitute a joint committee to lobby support from the decision making authorities in India and Pakistan for promoting the journalists’ cross-border movement.
He was appreciative of Pakistani government, particularly its high commissioner in India Salman Bashir, for issuing visas to his delegation within a short span of three days.