Pakistan on Wednesday rejected controversial American blogger Cynthia Ritchie’s application for visa extension and directed her to leave the country within 15 days. Ritchie had, in June, alleged that she was raped by Pakistan's former interior minister Rehman Malik and accused ex-prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and another former minister of physically manhandling her in 2011.
The Ministry of Interior took the decision after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) asked authorities to make a final decision about the status of her stay in the country.
The IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah in June had sought an explanation from the ministry about the status and terms and conditions of the visa issued to Ritchie on a petition filed by an activist of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), asking it to explain if she was entitled to making political statements, the Dawn newspaper reported.