Have you have met the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee?
Yes, I am the only Pakistani reporter in the past four to five years to have interviewed the Indian Prime Minister. Ever since I came I was requesting the PMO for an interview but I wasn`t getting one. Then before the Agra summit, I was asked by the external affairs ministry spokesperson, Nirupama Rao, to hand in a list of questions which I did. I had a half-an-hour meeting with Prime Minister Vajpayee but at the end of that conversation I was told it was off the record and a written answers to the questions I sent were handed over to me. But I did work in the Prime Minister`s conversation into my copy as background. I felt cheated because I thought the written answers seemed like just another press statement and were not a genuine interview. Q: What about travelling? A: The real obstacle for me as a journalist is the limitations on travel. Under the visa conditions a Pakistani reporter has permission to travel only to three cities–Delhi, Mumbai and Agra. When I saw Agra on my list I
