Pakistan orders Indian journalists to leave country
The Pakistani authority has cited no reason for the expulsion and said that their visas would not be renewed.
Meena Menon of The Hindu newspaper and Snehesh Alex Philip of the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency were given letters late on Tuesday asking them to leave by May 20.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin has called the move by the neighbouring country as "retrograde step."
"Regrettable & unfortunate that 2 Indian correspondents in Pakistan have been asked to leave prematurely and suddenly," Akhbaruddin tweeted.
He said free flow of information between both the countries is an important confidence building measure.
"Free flow of information between India and Pakistan has long been recognized as an important confidence building measure," he said.
"Not allowing independent journalists to function is a retrograde step," he commented.
Akhbaruddin said: "The stationing of journalists and free flow of information is an important CBM and should be safeguarded by all concerned."
Both journalists had been posted in Pakistan for less than a year.
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