ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received visa requests from 81 foreign journalists and 38 international observers ahead of Feb. 8 general elections, Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said on Tuesday, with visas issued to 49 media workers so far.
Pakistan is currently being run by a caretaker government under interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar who will oversee an election that was originally expected to be held in November but was delayed after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had to redraw hundreds of constituency boundaries across the country based on the results of a new population census.
Despite a concerning uptick in militant attacks in recent months and a diplomatic row with neighboring Iran over an exchange of missile strikes last week, the ECP has said elections will go as per schedule.
“Pakistan has received and processed 81 applications from foreign nationals [journalists] to cover the general elections,” Solangi told reporters at a media briefing on Tuesday.
“To date, 49 [journalist] visas have been issued, while 32 are still in process.”
“174 journalists associated with international media and already residing in Pakistan will also cover the elections from their respective organizations,” Solangi added. It was unclear if their accreditation requests had been approved or were still under review.
“In the non-journalist category, we have received 5 requests from the UK, 8 from the Russian Federation, 13 from Japan, 5 from Canada, 2 observer missions from South Africa, and 5 requests from the Commonwealth,” the information minister said, giving details of 38 observers who had sought visas.
Pakistan's Information Minister Murtaza Solangi (second right) is addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 23, 2024. (PID)
All applications were being reviewed, including those filed after a Jan. 20 deadline set by the ECP, he added.
International journalists and observers had been given permission to operate from the three major cities of Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
“For those wishing to travel to other cities, the processing is handled on a case-by-case basis,” Solangi said.
6,065 accreditation cards had also been granted to local journalists so far and hundreds of applications were under review, the information minister added.
