ISLAMABAD – Criticizing the decision of the government that artists, writers, journalists and civil society activists must obtain No Objection Certificate (NoC) from the Ministry of Interior prior to their visits abroad, particularly to India, South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) has called for immediate withdrawal of the condition.
“We do not accept this NoC policy and demand of the government to immediately withdraw its decision as it reflects mindset of Hitler’s regime,” Imtiaz Alam, secretary general of SAFMA said addressing a press conference on Tuesday.
He said that the NoC condition by a democratic government was strange and it seemed that the democratic government did not have sovereignty.
“Such conditions are extremely unreasonable and it seems that the democratic government does not have sovereignty,” Imtiaz said adding if the NoC condition was not withdrawn, SAFMA will violate it and will ask its Indian Chapter to reach the Wagha border.
Imtiaz Alam also stressed that India and Pakistan should liberalize their visa regimes and abolish their restrictive and city-specific visa policies to facilitate people-to-people contact between the two countries. “If the governments of both the countries are seeking to resume dialogue, it should not stop people-to-people contact, but they don’t seem to be willing to do that,” the secretary general of SAFMA said.
Imtiaz Alam also criticized the delay in granting SARRC Visa stickers to the journalists despite the decision of the SAARC Council of Ministers. Zahid Hussain, vice president of SAFMA and a senior journalist, said that the NOC condition practically amounts to putting ban on the visits to India of artists, writers, journalists and civil society activists. “The restriction is not only undesirable, rather absurd,” Zahid Hussain said. He also added that there should be a more liberalized visa policy extended to all SARRC countries.
