The US rebuked a Pakistani reporter’s questions on Thursday (local time) regarding claims made by an Australian journalist that he was not permitted to cover the general elections in India, stating that the country chooses which non-citizens it permits to enter, either as foreign journalists or as temporary visitors.
In response to a query from a Pakistani journalist concerning claims that Australian journalist Avani Dias’ visa was denied, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department Vedant Patel stated, “The Government of India can speak to its own visa policy.” I won’t be offering my opinion on that going forward.
Patel highlighted once more how important the free press is to democracy.
We have made it very evident to nations all over the world how essential a free press is to democracy. For this reason, we frequently come up here and answer queries. However, I’ll let the Indian officials speak,” he declared.
Journalist Avani Dias from Australia said she was forced to leave the nation after being denied permission to cover the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Her statements, according to later government sources, are “not correct, misleading, and mischievous.”
Sources claimed that Avani Dias, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) South Asia correspondent, was also discovered to have broken visa regulations while “undertaking her professional pursuits.”
Dias was informed that her visa would be extended so that she could cover the general elections, as she had requested.
The sources further highlighted that Avani’s assertions that he is not allowed to cover elections are untrue, noting that all journalists with valid visas are allowed to cover election-related events outside of polling places.
According to an Australia Today story, Avani Dias left India due to other personal obligations rather than problems with her visa.
A handful of foreign correspondents banded together to “support” Dias after several Indian journalists exposed her bogus statements. They claimed that by doing so, they had disregarded their basic journalistic obligations and had instead engaged in activism and elitism.
Patel also refrained from commenting on the Indian government’s internal investigation report regarding the purported plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun during the press briefing.
“I’m not aware of the report that you’re referencing,” he remarked. Since the Department of Justice is ultimately in charge of this, I will yield to them and let them handle it.
In response to the US State Department report, the Indian government said yesterday that it is extremely biased and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
(In collaboration with ANI)
