A 73-year-old British-American author and journalist, Charles Glass, who sought an interview with Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan while on a tourist visa has been deported.
Glass is said to be Khan’s friend and was known for his work in the Middle East. However, Pakistani media explained that the journalist’s deportation was made after it was found out that he violated the visa rules, VisaGuide.World reports.
Glass was visiting Islamabad-based journalist Zahid Hussain when police arrived at his house and detained him. They then took him to an airport in Islamabad. Zahid Hussain described it as a “strange move” and said that Glass wasn’t told by police why he was being deported.
He had been stopped by jail authorities from seeing Khan when he visited Adiala Jail earlier and had returned without meeting him, so why deport him?
It was also reported that he was initially taken to his lodgings to collect his luggage and then deported to the Middle East. Moreover, a former aide of ex-PM Imran Khan, Shahzad Akbar, mentioned the incident on former Twitter, X.
There are reports of the deportation of British journalist Charles Glass, who was visiting Pakistan to see Imran Khan in Adiala prison. Jane Marriott, could you confirm the deportation of a British citizen by Pakistani authorities?
Glass Broke Pakistan’s Rules by Engaging in Journalistic Activity
A source from Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior announced that the Pakistan High Commission in London granted Charles Glass a tourist visa. The source pointed out that he might have been granted a tourist visa from Italy and not from London, which means that he broke the Pakistani rules since tourist visas prohibit any form of paid or freelance work, including journalism.
As a result, it was proved that he was visiting the country only as a tourist and to meet friends and would not be indulging in any journalistic activities campaign.
Khan’s Legal Cases Believed to Be Related With Motives to Keep Him Out of Politics
Khan, a former cricket star, came to power in Pakistan in 2018 and was ousted in 2022. He was ousted by a parliamentary no-confidence vote after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which had helped propel him to office.
In response to this, the army has denied political interference. Since his ouster, Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have led a defiant campaign against the military, even blaming senior military officials for an assassination bid against Khan in November 2022 while he was in charge of a protest caravan in Islamabad.
The PTI founder has been in jail since August 2023, although all four sentences handed down to him ahead of parliamentary elections in February were either suspended or overturned. According to Khan, all legal cases against him are motivated to keep him out of politics.