KATHMANDU: A Labor MP and Kashmiri rights campaigner has said she has been deported from India.
Debbie Abrahams, the MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Kashmir, was denied entry to the country on Monday and flown to Dubai, The Guardian reported.
Officials at Delhi airport told her that her e-visa, which had been issued last October and was valid until October 2020, had been rejected. The trip to India during parliamentary recess was to visit family and friends.
She said: “Along with everyone else, I presented myself at the immigration desk with my documents including my e-visa, had my photograph taken and then the official looked at his screen and started shaking his head. Then he told me my visa was rejected, took my passport, and disappeared for about 10 minutes.
Abrahams arrived in Delhi with her aide Harpreet Uppal on an Emirates flight from Dubai at 9am on Monday. After being denied entry she was flown back to the United Arab Emirates and was due to arrive there on Monday afternoon.
She has been an outspoken critic of the Indian government for stripping Kashmir of its semi-autonomy last August, demoting it from a state to a federal territory.
(With inputs from Agencies)
Comment