Cyril Almeida. Photo: Official Twitter page/cyalmIslamabad: A prominent Pakistani journalist has been barred from leaving the country after he reported a rift between the civilian and military leaderships over the powerful ISI shielding terror groups like the Haqqani network and LeT that led to Pakistan's international isolation.
Cyril Almeida, a columnist and reporter for the Dawn newspaper, tweeted that he has been put on 'Exit Control List' - a system of border control maintained by Pakistan government which allows it to bar people whose names appear on the list from leaving the country.
"I am told and have been informed and have been shown evidence that I am on the Exit Control List," Almeida tweeted.
"Puzzled, saddened. Had no intention of going anywhere; this is my home. Pakistan. I feel sad tonight. This is my life, my country. What went wrong," he said.
The government has not officially commented on the ban, but prime minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday asked authorities to take "stern action" against people responsible for publishing the "fabricated" story.
Meanwhile, the widely read daily - also the country's oldest - today stood by the story issued on October 6, saying it was "verified, cross-checked and fact-checked".
The story, carried by the paper on its front page, had said that facing international isolation, Sharif in an unprecedented move has warned the powerful military not to shield banned militant groups and directed authorities to conclude the Pathankot terror attack probe and the 2008 Mumbai attack trial.
It mentioned a rift between Pakistan's civilian and military leaderships over jihadi groups operating from Pakistan that engage in war against India and Afghanistan like the Haqqani network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for the Mumbai attack.
The newspaper in a message issued by its editor today said that "many at the helm of affairs are aware of the senior officials, and participants of the meeting, who were contacted by the newspaper for collecting information, and more than one source confirmed and verified the details".
It also called the whole episode as "scape-goating the country's most respected newspaper in a malicious campaign" and asked the elected government and state institutions to "refrain from targeting the messenger".
Almeida in a series of tweets also said he had planned a trip abroad long time ago.
"Was a long-planned trip, for at least several months now. There are certain things that I will never, ever forgive," he said.
Meanwhile, Almeida's tweet has been among the top trends in Pakistan and he has received support from several senior journalists.
Najam Sethi of Geo tweeted: "Civil-Military Establishment has given the international media a bigger story by stupidly targeting Cyril/Dawn. Media must stand by @cyalm and @dawn_com."
Ansar Abbasi, senior journalist with The News, said: "One can raise Qs on Dawn story but putting @cyalm name on ECL is wrong. After Dawn had published rebuttal, there was no need for all this (sic)."
Another journalist Zahid Hussain said: "Travel ban on Cyril @cyalm for doing his job is shameful."
Pakistan government has repeatedly denied the story in which Almeida, citing sources, reported a verbal clash in a meeting of top officials of civilian government of Sharif and spy chief of military-led Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) over alleged support to militants.
His report said the civilian government told the military leadership of a growing international isolation of Pakistan due to their alleged support to militancy.
An official statement said: "(The) prime minister took serious notice of the violation and directed that those responsible should be identified for stern action."
Almeida's scoop came amidst a backdrop of heightened tension between India and Pakistan following the attack on an Indian army base in Uri on September 18 in which 19 soldiers were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit.
On September 29, India carried out "surgical strikes" on seven terror launch pads across the LoC, and the Indian Army said it had inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan has denied the surgical strike by India but has claimed two of its soldiers were killed in alleged ceasefire violations along the LoC by Indian troops.
(With agency inputs)
