The atrocities faced by fleeing Rohingya Muslims at the hands of Myanmar has prompted several journalists and news agencies to cover the matter first hand. To that end, two Pakistani journalists decided to visit Myanmar to get a first hand account of the events.
Amir Liaquat and Waqar Zaka decided to visit the country, planning their visit publicly on Twitter. After they reached Yangon airport they faced difficulties with the immigration department and were deported for “unknown reasons”.
Read More: Amir Liaquat Gets Deported Back to Pakistan After Myanmar Adventure
The anchorperson had also tweeted that they were detained “illegally” at Yangon Airport:
Turns out they lied to the officers at the immigration department saying that they were at Myanmar for just a visit, according to an immigration officer.
Immigration officer U Myint Zaw said,
I asked them some basic questions because they came in on tourist visas not as media organisations. I decided to check them carefully because one of them was a famous TV presenter in Pakistan. We got information that they would try to come in using a United Nations visa to report on the Rakhine conflict, but their visa was not what I was informed.
Airport police at Yangon Airport confirmed that the two had come on tourist visas and did not have a contact in Myanmar to translate for them. The police said that they did not clearly answer them when they were questioned about the purpose of their visit. They had recording equipment and yet they came on a tourist visa, which is why they were deported for lying about the purpose of their visit.
They were refused entry and were sent on Thai Airways flight TG 303 to Bangkok. Aamir Liaquat further confirmed in a later tweet that they had arrived in Pakistan soon after.
Via Myanmar Times
