Pakistan blacklisted and expelled the Asia coordinator of global press freedom group the Committee to Protect Journalists, the group's executive director said Friday. Joel Simon called the expulsion of Steven Butler "baffling" and "a slap in the face" to those concerned about press freedom in Pakistan. Butler was refused entry at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore despite having a valid visa and was returned to the United States. Butler said he was told he was on "a stop list of the Interior Ministry." The government had no immediate comment Friday.

"Pakistani authorities should give a full explanation of their decision to bar Butler from entering and correct this error," Simon said in a statement issued by the CPJ. "If the government is interested in demonstrating its commitment to a free press, it should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into this case." Butler was planning to attend the Asma Jahangir Conference-Roadmap for Human Rights in Pakistan.

His expulsion at the airport "reinforces our deep and growing concerns about press freedom in the country," Simon told The Associated Press. Journalists and journalist advocacy groups blame the military and its powerful intelligence agency, which they say are seeking to quash critical coverage in general as well as any coverage of the Pashtun movement against the military's war on terror, particularly in the tribal regions.

The military has denied it is involved in censorship. "There is no media censorship through ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) or ISI," the country's main intelligence agency, said military spokesman Gen. Asif Ghafoor in an earlier written response to questions from AP.-AP

CPJ press release adds: Airport authorities in Lahore confiscated Butler's passport and forced him onto a flight to Doha, Qatar. When he arrived in Doha, authorities there placed him on a flight to Washington, D.C. Butler, who communicated with CPJ while on the flight, said he was in "a kind of restricted custody" and said that the flight crew was in possession of his passport and boarding pass. "Pakistani authorities' move to block Steven Butler from entering the country is baffling and is a slap in the face to those concerned about press freedom in the country," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019