The Pakistan embassy has confirmed that visiting freelance American journalist Nicholas Schmidle is not missing, as reported in a section of the press, including this newspaper, but safe and working on assignment in Sindh for a feature article on Sehwan Sharif.
Schmidle is in Pakistan for the Smithsonian, which is doing a feature in one of its forthcoming publications on the colourful celebrations witnessed during the “urs” of the popular 8th century saint of Sehwan, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.
Schmidle who was deported from Pakistan last year for infringement of his visa, applied for a visa this summer, which the embassy strongly recommended and which the government of Pakistan authorised the embassy to issue. Schmidle also sent an email and a text message to this correspondent on Thursday, expressing surprise at the erroneous press report that he was “missing.” He said he was in Sindh with a Sindhi journalist colleague completing his assignment. He is returning to Washington, where he lives, later this month.
It is being incorrectly reported that a journalist, Nicholas Shambles is missing.
