The government said on Thursday the deportation of a woman member of the Afghan parliament from Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on August 20 – was reported per The Indian Express – It was an unintentional mistake.
He also contacted Rangina Kargar, a member of the Wolesi Jirga representing Faryab province, and “apologized” for what had happened. He asked her to apply for an emergency visa.
The issue was raised at a government-convened all-party meeting to brief leaders on the situation in Afghanistan.
The Indian Express reported Thursday that Kargar arrived at IGI airport in early August 20 from Istanbul on a Fly Dubai flight. Although she carried a diplomatic / official passport that facilitates visa-free travel under a reciprocal agreement with India, the same airline sent her to Istanbul via Dubai after making her wait at the airport. .
Sources said Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Anand Sharma and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the issue at the meeting of all parties.
“Why did the MEA take this step against a veteran Afghan politician who travels frequently to India and has a diplomatic passport?” the leaders asked Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
Sources said the government side responded that it was an unwanted mistake because there was “panic” after reporting that the Taliban had taken some passports with Indian visas. An alert had also sounded.
Kharge later told reporters: “We raised the issue of the deportation of women parliamentarians. He (Jaishankar) said it was a mistake and that this incident will not happen in the future. They (the government) regretted it. “
The government also contacted Kargar. “JP Singh (joint secretary responsible for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in the MEA) spoke to me. He apologized for what had happened and asked me to apply for an electronic emergency visa. I asked him if the official passport was no longer valid, but he did not answer. I told her I had tried to get an electronic visa for my daughter on August 19, but there was no response to the request, ”Kargar told The Indian Express.
She said she waited 16 hours at Delhi airport on August 20, from 6 am to 10 pm, before being flown back to Istanbul via Dubai.
Ahead of the all-party meeting, Congress MP Manish Tewari, while tweeting the Indian Express report, said he hoped the Foreign Minister would explain at the meeting why the Afghan MP was deported despite having valid travel documents. “When they have to see us standing with the women of Afghanistan, we seem to be against them. SAD, ”he posted on Twitter.
Kargar had a medical appointment at a South Delhi hospital on the day of his arrival and had a return ticket on August 22 for Istanbul. She traveled alone while her husband Fahim and their four children were in Istanbul.
Fahim Kargar is chief of staff of the Wolesi Jirga and the family arrived in Istanbul in late July. Turkmen born in Mazar-e-Sharif in 1985, she is not affiliated with any political party and is described as a women’s rights activist.