Debbie Abrahams, a Member of the British Parliament and the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir, who has been highly critical of India’s move in the occupied valley was denied entry into India, reported the Times of India.
Abrahams aide, Harpreet Upal, told the Associated Press, the MP was unable to clear customs after her valid India visa was rejected.
Upal said the immigration officials did not cite any reason for denying Abrahams entry and revoking her visa, a copy of which, valid until October 2020.
"I tried to establish why the visa had been revoked and if I could get a 'visa on arrival' but no one seemed to know," she said in the statement.
"Even the person who seemed to be in charge said he didn't know and was really sorry about what had happened. So now I am just waiting to be deported ... unless the Indian government has a change of heart. I'm prepared to let the fact that I've been treated like a criminal go, and I hope they will let me visit my family and friends."
Debbie Abrahams
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@Debbie_abrahams
In response to some of the comments I was planning to visit Indian family in Dehli accompanied by my Indian aide. I became a politician to promote social justice & human rights FOR ALL. I will continue to challenge my own Government & others while injustice & abuse is unchecked
Nidhi Razdan
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@Nidhi
British MP @Debbie_abrahams says she has been denied entry into India this morning despite having a valid visa. Ms Abrahams chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir and has been critical of the GOI’s move to revoke Article 370. Statement below:
Abrahams said, according to NDTV, when she landed around 8:50 this morning she was told by Delhi airport officials that the e-visa which was valid until October 2020 had been rejected.
"Along with everyone else, I presented myself at the immigration desk with my documents including my e-visa, had my photograph taken and then the official looked at his screen and started shaking his head. Then he told me my visa was rejected, took my passport and disappeared for about 10 minutes. When he came back he was very rude and aggressive, shouting at me to 'come with me'," said Abrahams.
"I told him not to speak to me like that and was then taken to a cordoned off area marked as a Deportee Cell. He then ordered me to sit down and I refused. I didn't know what they might do or where else they may take me, so I wanted people to see me."
The politician said she rang a relative she was supposed to stay with, and he called the British High Commission to try and find out what was going on. She also said she asked about a visa on arrival, but got no answers.
The British MP has been highly critical of the Indian government after it revoked the special status of Kashmir.
Last month the Indian government took a group of more than 20 foreign diplomats on a visit to the occupied valley, the second such trip by New Delhi since it put the valley under a lockdown six months ago.
Rima settles in a chair at an upscale Riyadh cafe, looks around carefully, and seeing no one she recognises, drags on her electronic cigarette and exhales a cloud of smoke.
“I feel that smoking in public is a part of exercising my newly won freedoms. I am happy that now that I can choose,” the 27-year-old Saudi who works for a private company in the capital told AFP.
Like Western feminists of the early 20th century, in an era of social change in Saudi Arabia some women are embracing cigarettes, shisha pipes or vaping as a symbol of emancipation.
The sight of women smoking in public has become much more common in recent months, an unthinkable prospect before the introduction of sweeping reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
The kingdom’s ambitious de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has rolled out an array of economic and social innovations to project a moderate, business-friendly image.
Women are now allowed to drive, attend public sporting events and concerts, and obtain passports without the approval of a male guardian.
Rima, who started smoking two years ago, dismisses concerns about the harmful effects of tobacco, but is worried her family will find out.
She says she is prepared for a showdown.
“I won’t tell them that this is about my personal liberty, because they won’t understand that women are free to smoke like men,” said Rima, dressed in a traditional black abaya with gold embroidery matching the hijab that covered her hair.
Najla, 26, who like Rima asked to use a pseudonym, said that despite the rapid social changes, double standards still existed, and that it was still considered a “scandal and disgrace” if women smoked.
The only woman lighting up amid several tables of male smokers, she said she intended to “challenge society” and ignore the occasional dirty looks.
“My rights will be fully respected when my family accepts me as a smoker,” she said, recalling that a friend was sent to an addiction clinic when her parents found out about her smoking.
Najla, a 26-year-old Saudi woman, smokes publicly at a coffee shop in downtown Riyadh on February 5, 2020. - Like Western feminists of the early 20th century, in an era of social change in Saudi Arabia some women are embracing cigarettes, shisha pipes or vaping as a symbol of emancipation. The sight of women lighting up in public has become much more common in recent months, an unthinkable prospect before the introduction of sweeping reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom. Women are now allowed to take the wheel of cars, go to stadiums to watch sports and concerts, and obtain passports without the approval of a male guardian (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP)
Najla started smoking while still a school student, and like her, up to 65 per cent of female Saudi high schoolers light up secretly, according to a 2015 study by the medical faculty at King Abdulaziz University cited by Arab News.
Despite the limitations, in a country where until just a few years ago religious police would chase and hit women for infractions like wearing nail polish or allowing a strand of hair to escape from their hijab, the changes have been head-spinning.
“Most of our women clients order shisha. It’s something that was totally unimaginable just three months ago,” a Lebanese waiter told AFP at an upscale cafe in north Riyadh.
Heba, a 36-year-old longtime smoker who sat at a table nearby, described growing up in a closed country where “everything was forbidden to women.”
“I never imagined I would be able to smoke shisha in public next to men,” she told AFP.
“Now, everything is allowed. Women venture out without hijab, without abaya and they even smoke publicly.”
But even as the kingdom has introduced reforms, it has attracted condemnation for a heavy-handed crackdown on dissidents including intellectuals, clerics and female activists.
In 2018, authorities arrested at least a dozen women activists just before the historic lifting of the decades-long ban on female motorists.
Many of the detained have accused interrogators of sexual harassment and torture. Saudi authorities reject the accusations.
“There is no doubt that at the personal level there is more freedom,” said Walid al-Hathloul, whose sister Loujain is on trial over allegations of having contacts with foreign media and diplomats.
“But the reforms in favour of women are part of a public relations campaign to improve the kingdom’s human rights record,” he told AFP.
“The arrest and demonisation of women activists is proof of this – it’s designed so that the reforms will not be credited to the activists,” he told AFP. - AFP
The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the British government to take action against journalist and social media activist Gul Bukhari for allegedly using the British soil for nefarious activities against the state of Pakistan while abusing her freedom of speech.
The correspondence, viewed exclusively by Geo News, comprises a four-page letter written by the PTI government to the British government stating that Gul Bukhari is engaged in a “vicious campaign” to spread negativity against Pakistan through her Twitter.
The letter by the Pakistani government against Gul has been sent to the Home Office, police services and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the United Kingdom.
It asks for accountability of Gul Bukhari, including stopping her “inimical activities” on social media and an investigation into her “lifestyle”.
Sources in the Home Office and Foreign Office have confirmed that they have received the letter from Pakistan, but refused to say what, if any, action the UK government will take against Gul Bukhari.
The memo to the UK government asks the British government to investigate Bukhari and alleges that she is involved in propagating negativity and a “hostile agenda” against the armed forces and the institutions of Pakistan using British soil.
“Her venomous social media activities promote divisive tendencies and incitement of violence,” the letter says about Bukhari, who is a British-Pakistani national and has some members of the family permanently settled in the UK.
The letter refers to a tweet dated January 12, 2020 by Gul Bukhari which was factually wrong, but went viral on social media.
The letter to the UK government describes the said tweet as “intentional defamation and hate speech” that violated UK and Pakistani laws.
The Government of Pakistan, through the official letter, has told the UK authorities that it is "a matter of grave concern for Pakistan" that a “free hand” has been given to “anti-Pakistan elements" using British soil to create trouble in Pakistan.
The letter asks the British government to “stop inimical activities” of Gul Bukhari on social media. It further asks the UK government to hold Gul Bukhari “accountable as per the law of the land for exploiting freedom of expression, using abusive language and indulging in hate speech”.
The letter also asks the British government to check Gul Bukhari’s lifestyle and her income sources. It makes mention of a recent trip by Gul Bukhari to Washington where she took part in a conference organized under the banner of South Asians against Terrorism & for Human Rights (SAATH).
The letter draws the attention of the British government towards the British Public Order Act 1986 on abusive words, behaviours, displays and writings that are offensive in nature, as well as UK’s Terrorism Act of 2006.
Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has also issued a statement demanding that Bukhari appear in Pakistan for questioning about her alleged online propaganda against the government within 30 days or else the agency will file terrorism charges against her.
The FIA has threatened that the agency will seek Bukhari’s extradition from the United Kingdom through Interpol, and could seize any property that Bukhari has in Pakistan.
When contacted by this correspondent, Gul Bukhari said she had not been formally served with any papers. “I will respond once I receive the papers.”
Actor Juggun Kazim recently held a segment with TV personality Mubasher Lucman in which the two discussed the wave of compromising leaks of various celebrities.
Lucman argued that the participants in such a video often do it out of their own will and hence, should accept the consequences accordingly.
Kazim subsequently responded to this by calling out the double standards in the entertainment industry for men and women.
“Mana kay aaj kal social media kay zamanay mein har cheez viral hojati hein. Shahid certain tasveerein khichwana aqalmandi kee baat nahi hai (I agree that in this day and age when anything can go viral, perhaps taking certain kind of photos is not the smartest decision)”, she said.
“Mera sawal yeh hai kay jab male models, jin kee literally boxer shorts bhi nahi , barely kuch cover hoa hota hai . Unki sari body nazar arahi hoti hai leken kyunke unkay muscle banay hota hein, tu log wah wah kar rahay hota hein. Media mein siraf urtein hee kyun target horahai hotee hein? ( My question is that when male models appear barely covered. But since they are showing their muscles, they are lauded by the public. Why are only women targeted?)” Kazim exclaimed.
The actor then talks about how the people leaking and sharing such videos are never named and shamed.
“Mujhe bari ajeeb see baat lagti hai kay jiss insaan ney actually release kia hota hai. Ager kisi freind ney bheji bhi tu uskay sath koi aisa taluq hoga nah? Sorry uss baghairat ko koi kuch kyun nahi kehta ( To me the strangest thing is that if the participant willfully sends the video to someone, surely there is a close bond between the two. Yet no one ever calls out the shameless person who breaches the trust)”, Kazim said.
On the subject of whether video taping oneself in such a way is a mental illness, Kazim asserts that even in such a situation those sharing it should be held accountable too.
“Chalo beemari hai, ager koi banda schizophrenic hota hai tu aapko uskay fit kee video banaker iss tarha release kareingay? Tu ager koi insaan ager apni video bana ker upload kar raha hai tu aap kyun share horahay hein? Saray jo ghum kay beghairat keh rahay hotay hein wohi begharti kar rahay hotay hein phela kar. (Lets assume they are ill. If a person is schizophrenic, would you ever release a video of him or her going through a fit? Then if someone uploads a compromising video willfully why are you sharing it? All those that make moral judgement are themselves indulging in shameful acts by circulating these videos)” she said.
Later on the two engaged in a debate of whether celebrities leak such videos to revive their careers. According to Kazim, a woman would never even think of doing something like this.
“Merey liye yeh digest karna bohat mushkil hai (It is really hard for me to digest such a notion)”, Kazim said.
The actor further argued that such a move doesn’t even make business sense for a celebrity. She points out that renowned brands that are the main source of income for celebrities would never associate themselves with someone whose been made the subject of such a controversy.
