Afghan Woman MP Deported After Reaching Delhi, Accuses Indian Authorities Of 'Ill-Treatment'

Afghan MP Rangina Kargar claimed she was sent back by the same airline to Istanbul via Dubai after two hours of arrival without giving any reason for deportation.

This handout photo courtesy ot the US Air Force shows US Air Force loadmasters and pilots assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, load passengers aboard a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA), Afghanistan, August 24, 2021. | AFP

New Delhi: With India trying to make way for Afghan citizens in the country, a woman member of the Afghan parliament has come forward accusing that she was deported from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 20.

The concerned person is a member of the Wolesi Jirga (Parliament), known as Rangina Kargar, where she represented the Faryab province.

According to a report in the Indian Express, the MP, who holds a diplomatic passport, claims to have arrived at the IGI Airport on August 20 from Istanbul. Her diplomatic passport enables her to travel visa-free under a reciprocal arrangement with India.

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According to the version of Kargar she was sent back by the same airline to Istanbul via Dubai after two hours of arrival.

“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,” 36-year-old Kargar told Indian Express.

She rued about the fact that it was not good because the situation has changed in Kabul and she hopes that the Indian government helps Afghan women.

She clarified there was no reason for deportation, but “it was probably related to the changed political situation in Kabul, maybe security”.

What is India’s reaction?

This revelation comes amid External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressing that India will focus to preserve its historical relationship with Afghanistan and its people.

Meanwhile, Ministry of External Affairs officials informed the publication that they are not aware of the incident of Kargar's deportation.

In fact, two days after the MP was deported, India received two Afghan Sikh MPs, Narinder Singh Khalsa, and Anarkali Kaur Honaryar. Both MPs had arrived under the evacuation mission arranged by Delhi.