The Ministry of External Affairs has said that any foreign journalist, whether already based in India or not, can now visit Assam after taking its permission.
The MEA will consult the Ministry of Home Affairs internally before issuing the permit, according to an official release.
There is no protected area permit (PAP) or restricted area permit (RAP) in the State of Assam, the release pointed out. “Thus no PAP or RAP is needed by a foreign journalist,” it added.
The clarification has been made in response to reports that some foreign journalists in Assam were being asked to leave as they did not have the Centre’s permit.
Assam has been in the global media spotlight ever since the government started working on a National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the State. An estimated 19 lakh people have been left out of the final NRC and many of them face detention.