Afghan woman MP complains she was 'treated like criminal', deported from India: Reports
Rangina Kargar was not in one of the evacuation flights and she flew from Istanbul to New Delhi on her diplomat passport, she said, adding that she had her return ticket booked.
Amid India's ongoing evacuation operation from Afghanistan, an Afghan woman MP has now claimed that she was deported from New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 20. Reports said that Rangina Kargar who represents the Faryab province in Afghanistan flew in India from Istanbul and had an appointment at 11am at a South Delhi hospital. Her return ticket was on August 22 to Istanbul. However, she was not allowed to step out of immigration and was later sent back to Istanbul via Dubai on the same airline, reports said.
"They deported me, I was treated as a criminal. I was not given my passport in Dubai. It was given back to me only in Istanbul. I never expected this from Gandhiji’s India. We are always friends with India, we have strategic relations with India," Rangina Kargar told the Indian Express. Airport officials reportedly told her that they were helpless and they could do nothing at that point.
'Operation Devi Shakti': India evacuates more than 800 people from Afghanistan
After she was reportedly deported, India evacuated two Afghan Sikh MPS, Narinder Singh Khalsa and Anarkali Kaur Honaryar who arrived in India on evacuation flights. Rangina Kargar has clarified that she travelled to India like she had done in the past on the same passport. She had her return tickets booked and was not planning to stay in the country.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said that the issue of the deportation of the female diplomat was raised in the all-party meet held by the external affairs minister. "We raised the issue of a female (Afghan) diplomat who was deported. They said that they made a mistake, it won't be repeated and they will look into the matter," Kharge said.
The woman MP has been in Afghanistan politics since 2010 and is an independent politician. Currently, she stays in Turkey and in 2020 had applied for political asylum in Canada.
After the fall of Kabul on August 15, India operated several evacuation flights from Kabul as it said the government is committed to rescue all Sikhs and Hindus living in Afghanistan and all Afghans who are willing to come to India. The Union home ministry has also introduced a fast-tracked e-visa provision for Afghan nationals.