Travel ban on Cyril Almeida lifted

ISLAMABAD: The name of Dawn journalist Cyril Almeida has been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) after an order was issued by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. 

The decision to remove the journalist’s name came after a delegation of APNS and CPNE met with the interior minister and information minister. During the meeting, Chaudhry Nisar said removing Cyril’s name would not affect the ongoing inquiry. 

The journalist was placed on the ECL following a story published regarding the NSC meeting in which he wrote about an alleged civil-military rift on the issue of tackling jihadi outfits. The story was dismissed thrice by the Prime Minister’s house.

On Thursday during a news conference, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said the government had little choice but to prevent Almeida from leaving the country after it learnt he was booked on a flight earlier this week, but added he was a "free man" for now.

Nisar questioned why the newspaper carried the story when the reporter himself claimed that every official present in the meeting denied its contents. The reporter should have verified the story from other participants in the meeting, he said.

The interior minister added that the contents of the story had given the enemies of Pakistan an opportunity to create a charge sheet against the country.