Podcast: Elections in Pakistan

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H R Venkatesh: Hello and welcome to the News Junkie podcast. Today we're going to be talking about what it is like for a foreign national to report from in Pakistan. After all, there are going to be hundreds and hundreds of journalists with elections slated for the 18th of February. And to talk about it is CNN-IBN's Deputy foreign editor Suhasini Haidar who is going to be there. Thanks for joining me.

Suhasini Haidar: Thanks very much Venkatesh for having me on.

H R Venkatesh: Right, tell me Suhasini is this going to be your third, fourth trip to Pakistan as a reporter?

Suhasini Haidar: Actually, it's probably closer to my tenth trip as a reporter, I actually had the privilege I should say, of having been there when the historic 1997 elections happened in Pakistan [Nawaz Sharif elected PM for 2nd time] and I've been there ever since on all the big stories.

H R Venkatesh: You were there in the days following Benazir Bhutto's assassination, was that the most difficult time for you as a reporter in Pakistan?

Suhasini Haidar: I think it was. Simply because as a reporter you expect to be able to see your politician to criticise and it was certainly a shock to know that Pakistan would no longer have Benazir Bhutto. Even the elections that we're going to cover now are frankly going to be a pale shadow of what those elections could have meant to the country, had Benazir been alive.

H R Venkatesh: We'll talk about the elections later. But first, you know for the benefit of those who don't know, what is it like to be a reporter in Pakistan, especially if you're an Indian, can you pretty much go and report on any story, go to any city, town, village that you'd want to?

Suhasini Haidar: Absolutely not Venkatesh. It's apparently a reciprocal thing, but basically Indian reporters and foreign reporters aren't allowed to just travel freely in Pakistan. You're given visas for specific cities that you can go cover. And even within those cities, unless you've had prior permission, you're not supposed to head for military areas or cantonment areas, so large parts of your story might be out of bounds for you. In terms of what it's like to cover Pakistan as an Indian, I can only say, one gets a huge welcome as an Indian. It's not just us as journalist, it's people who've gone to watch cricket matches, people who've just gone for holidays, who've noticed what sort of a reception we get.