http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/world/asia/pakistan-dawn-journalist-cyril-almeida.html 2016-10-11 13:43:28 Reporter Who Wrote of Military-Civilian Clash Says He Can’t Leave Pakistan The journalist said he had been placed on an “exit control list” days after reporting a confrontation over the military’s handling of Islamist groups. === ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A well-known Pakistani journalist said on Tuesday that he had been barred from leaving the country, days after he wrote that civilian officials had confronted the military over what they called a failure to act against Islamist groups. Cyril Almeida Last Thursday, Dawn published According to the article, civilian officials warned that Pakistan could face international isolation unless the military moved against the Islamist groups. The United States has long urged Pakistan to take action against the The article said that Mr. Sharif’s younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab Province, accused the spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, of working behind the scenes to free militants who had been arrested by the civilian authorities. The prime minister has long had a tense relationship with the military, which asserts itself on foreign affairs and defense policies, and many in Pakistan speculated that his government had leaked the Dawn story. Mr. Sharif’s last government was On Monday, Gen. Raheel Sharif, the army chief, and General Akhtar, the spy chief, met with the prime minister in Islamabad. A subsequent statement from the prime minister’s office said the Dawn story was “fabricated” and had undermined “vital state interests,” and it vowed “stern action” against those responsible. Soon after midnight, on Tuesday, Mr. Almeida said he had been put on the exit control list. “Puzzled, saddened. Had no intention of going anywhere; this is my home,” Zaffar Abbas, the editor of Dawn, stood by the article and criticized the travel ban in a statement published on Tuesday. “The elected government and state institutions should refrain from targeting the messenger, and scapegoating the country’s most respected newspaper in a malicious campaign,” he said. Pakistan is regarded as