The Afghan MP Rangina Kargar, who claimed on August 26 that she was deported from the IGI airport two hours after reaching Delhi and was sent back by the same airline to Istanbul, had failed to produce valid visa documents, government officials confirmed on Thursday, August 26.
According to news agency ANI, the government officials said that Kargar was not allowed to move outside the IGI airport as she could neither show any document of her medical treatment in India nor did she have any document of reference from the Afghanistan Embassy.
Afghan woman MP claims she was deported by Indian authorities
Rangina Kargar, a member of the Afghan parliament, had arrived at the national capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 20 from Turkey. She was not allowed to enter the country as immigration officials asked her to wait. Later, on August 26, the Afghan MP claimed she was deported to Istanbul from the IGI airport two hours after she had reached Delhi.
The member of the Wolesi Jirga representing the Faryab province had then claimed that she holds a diplomatic/official passport that facilitates visa-free travel under a reciprocal arrangement with India.
She had further added that she was not given any reason for her deportation and believes it was probably related to the changed political situation in Kabul.
OpIndia reported earlier in the day how the Afghan MP had not travelled into India in any of the evacuation flights that are being operated by the Indian Air Force and Air India under Operation Devi Shakti. Instead, she chose to fly directly from Turkey via Dubai.
It is worth noting that Rangina Kargar has been living in Canada already, where she has applied for political asylum. Last year, Kargar had travelled to the US on a political passport seeking asylum.
From the US, she moved to Canada, where she was seeking asylum. The Afghan lawmakers had accused Rangina of receiving her salary and other cash privileges even as she sought asylum. Apparently, she took salary by marking present in the attendance book of the house despite her absence for over 14 months.