Published 15:17 IST, February 18th 2020
Visa authorisation 'any country's sovereign right': Govt sources on UK MP's deportation
Responding to media reports, sources of the govt further added that British MP's visa was revoked for indulging in activites against 'India's national interest'
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The government cited 'soverign right of any country' on grounds for rejecting Labour MP Debbie Abrahams entry into India on Monday. Responding to media reports, sources of the BJP-led government further added that Debbie Abrahams' visa was revoked for indulging in activites against 'India's national interest.' Similarly, Home Ministry on Tuesday claimed that the proposed process was following in handling the case of the British MP's deportation.
Government sources told ANI, "In response to media reports on return of British MP Debbie Abrahams, to UK from India, the facts are- grant, rejection, revocation of visa/ electronic travel authorisation is the sovereign right of any country." "Debbie Abrahams was issued an e-Business Visa on 7th October 2019, valid till 5 Oct 2020 to attend business meetings. Her e-Business Visa was revoked on 14 February 2020 on account of her indulging in activities which went against India's national interest," the sources added.
The British lawmaker issued a formal statement on Monday claiming having suffered an ordeal just as she was being deported to Dubai. Mentioning that she presented herself at the immigration desk with requisite documents including the e-visa, Abrahams claimed that an immigration official rudely directed her to sit in an area marked as a Deportee cell. Thereafter, she got in touch with her Indian host who contacted the British High Commission. On Monday, the Labour MP said that the officials were unwilling to disclose the reason for the revocation of her visa. Further, her request to get a 'visa on arrival' was rebuffed. There is no provision of 'visa on arrival' for UK nations at the airport.
The British MP's stance on Kashmir
Representing the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth since January 2011, Abrahams is the Chair of the British Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Kashmir Group. As per the website, its purpose is to support the right of Kashmiri people to self-determination and to highlight the abuses of human rights in Kashmir. After the abrogation of Article 370, she wrote to UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab asking whether UK would raise the matter at the UN Security Council meeting in September 2019.
On February 4, 2020, she participated in the Kashmir Solidarity Day seminar in London. The event also witnessed the participation of Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK and Sardar Masood Khan, the ‘President’ of PoK. The seminar was organised by the Women Council of Jammu Kashmir Self-Determination Movement International.
15:17 IST, February 18th 2020