Afghan MP says she was deported to Istanbul after arriving at Delhi airport

An Afghan MP, who flew from Istanbul to Delhi, has said that she was deported from the airport on August 20, The Indian Express reported on Thursday. The incident came days after the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 14.

Rangina Kargar, a member of the House of the People of Afghanistan, holds a diplomatic passport that allows visa-free travel under an arrangement with the government of India. Kargar, who represents the Faryab province and has been an MP for 10 years, told The Indian Express that she has travelled to India many times on the same passport.

The 36-year-old MP said that she could comfortably pass through the checks at the airport earlier but on August 20, the immigration officials stopped her. Kargar said that the official told her they needed to consult their superiors.

After this, she was sent back to Istanbul via Dubai on the same airline, Fly Dubai. “They deported me, I was treated as a criminal,” Kargar told The Indian Express. “I was not given my passport in Dubai. It was given back to me only in Istanbul.”

The MP said she was given no reason for her deportation. Kargar claimed that the deportation was “probably related to the changed political situation in Kabul, maybe security”.

“It was not good what they did…

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