The US On The Australian Journalist’s Visa Issue: “India Can Speak…”
Washington: 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. The US stated 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 about claims that Australian journalist Avani Dias’ visa was denied, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department Vedant Patel said, “The Government of India can speak to its own visa policy.” I won’t be offering my opinion on it going forward.
Patel emphasized once again how important the free press is to democracy.
In general, we have made it very evident to nations all over the globe how essential a free press is to democracy. For this reason, we often come up here to answer queries. However, I’ll let the Indian authorities comment,” he said.
Australian journalist Avani Dias said she was forced to leave the country after being denied permission to cover the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Her allegations, according to the sources, are “not correct, misleading, and mischievous.”
However, according to reports, Avani Dias, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) South Asia correspondent, was also found to have broken the terms of her visa while “undertaking her professional pursuits.”
Ms. Dias was informed that her visa would be extended at her request so that she could cover the general elections.
Furthermore, the sources emphasized that Avani Dias’s assertions that she is not allowed to cover elections are also untrue, noting that all journalists with valid visas are allowed to cover election-related events outside of polling places.
Mr. Patel refrained from commenting on the Indian government’s internal investigation report about the purported plan to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun at the press briefing.
“I’m not aware of the report that you’re referring to,” he said. Since the Department of Justice is ultimately responsible for handling this, I will yield to them and allow them to comment.”
American and Canadian people both recognize Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an Indian terrorist. He has threatened India on many occasions.
According to the indictment filed by the US Justice Department, Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national who is now detained, is accused of killing Pannun for pay. The US Justice Department had said that Gupta had been persuaded by an unnamed Indian government official to hire a hitman in order to kill Pannun, but US authorities had prevented this from happening.
