Zubair Qureshi
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is hearing a petition today (Friday) that seeks deportation of the US blogger and Cynthia Ritchie on the basis that she has overstayed in Pakistan and her visa expired in March this year.
Besides, it has been alleged in the petition that she has tarnished the image of Pakistan by leveling baseless allegations against former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Cynthia Ritchie earlier this month had alleged she was raped and molested by former Interior Minister and leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Rehman Malik, ex-Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and ex-health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin in 2011 when the PPP was in power.
They have firmly dismissed her allegations threatening to take her to the court for the ‘baseless’ charges. Rehman Malik whom she has accused of rape has even sent her through his lawyer a defamation notice.
However, Cynthia Ritchie, unfazed by their threats and court notices, posted pictures on twitter showing her with the above-mentioned PPP leaders. Ritchie’s allegations created stir in the PPP ranks and also generated a debate on social media that her allegations should be thoroughly probed. Voices were raised for and against her.
In the latest petition, the petitioner Ch Iftikhar Ahmed has maintained that Ritchie’s visa expired in March 2020 and that her current stay in Pakistan is illegal.
The petitioner prayed that the court issued directives to deport her and to her movement be restricted till then or till her deportation or renewal of her visa.
The petitioner has also raised questions on her source of income. The US blogger has not disclosed any source of income, and if she is indeed engaged in any business activity, it should be registered with the SECP, states the petition.
The petitioner further adds that she leveled baseless allegations against former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and brought a bad name to Pakistan and its leadership.
While talking to Pakistan Observer, Cynthia Ritchie said she wasn’t bothered about such pressure tactics and they are not going to weaken her resolve. “Regarding Pakistan’s image, my work record over the years, including film and writings, speaks for itself. The rest is nothing but elementary school politics.”
About her visa expiry issue, she said renewal of visa was under process and the Interior Ministry had already granted all the foreigners visa extension until end of August, due to circumstances involving coronavirus.
When asked if she received any message of solidarity from women rights NGOs or advocates of #MeToo, she said oddly, very few such messages were received. “However, the public response on social media is overwhelming and they are calling for thorough investigation,” she said adding “I’m going to do a poll on my Twitter about women’s rights orgs very soon.”
