Pakistan rejects US blogger Cynthia Ritchie’s visa extention plea, tells her to leave in 15 days
The PPP took Ritchie, who claimed she worked for the military’s public relations department, to court where her legal status in Pakistan was brought under scrutiny
Pakistan’s interior ministry on Wednesday asked US blogger Cynthia Ritchie to leave the country within 15 days after rejecting her request for visa extension months following her spat with the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over a series of allegations against its leaders including that of rape.
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The PPP took Ritchie, who claimed she worked for the military’s public relations department, to court where her legal status in Pakistan was brought under scrutiny.
The Islamabad high court on July 10 asked the ministry to decide on a PPP leader’s petition seeking deportation of the US blogger, her stay in Pakistan and the extension of her visa. The ministry told the court her visa had expired on August 31.
The spat was triggered after Ritchie insinuated that slain former Prime Minister and PPP leader Benazir Bhutto ordered a woman’s rape after she suspected her of having a relationship with her husband and ex-president, Asif Zardari. Ritchie later accused a PPP leader and then minister of raping her in 2011 when the party was in power. She also alleged two other senior party leaders —a federal minister and former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani--manhandled her when the latter “was staying at the President House”.
