Ansar Burney deported from India

[Spring Onion]

Pak activist Ansar Burney deported from India
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Posted online: Saturday , May 31, 2008 at 08:29:41
Updated: Saturday , May 31, 2008 at 08:29:41 Print Email To Editor Post Comments

New Delhi, May 31: Ansar Burney, the leading Pakistani human rights activist who fought for the release of Indian death row prisoners Kashmir Singh and Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan, was deported from New Delhi back to Dubai on Friday night, sources said.
Burney, who was the Human Rights Minister in the interim government in Pakistan, was deported back from the Indira Gandhi International Airport by an Emirates Airways flight at around 2030 hours because of a "look-out" notice against him, they said.

Home Ministry officials, however, could not say who had issued the notice against Burney and in what connection. Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said Burney's deportation could have been due to "some mistake".

Interestingly, Burney had visited India in April this year and met Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon on April 8. A few days prior to that, he had met Sarabjit's family in Amritsar.

Soon after his deportation, Burney's son shot off an e-mail to some journalists in Delhi informing them of his father's deportation.

Burney successfully secured the release of Kashmir Singh, who spent 35 years on death row in a Lahore jail, on February 20 this year as President Pervez Musharraf approved his mercy petition filed on the Indian's behalf by the Human Rights ministry.

Airport sources said the reason given to Burney for deportation was that he had wrongly mentioned his port of embarkation.

Singh was arrested in Rawalpindi on espionage charges in 1973, was sentenced to death by an army court.

Burney is also playing a key role in efforts to save Sarabjit Singh, who was charged with triggering bomb blasts in Lahore in 1990, from the gallows.

It was his efforts that led to Pakistan government's indefinitely postponing execution of Sarabjiit earlier this month.


Pak activist Ansar Burney deported from India - ExpressIndia.Com

 

[Spring Onion]

What else he could have expected from India.

 

[vish]

I guess this is a serious bureaucratic goof-up. I just don't see any reason why Mr. Burney would be deported. Indian babu-dom is capable of anything.

 

[Spring Onion]

I guess this is a serious bureaucratic goof-up. I just don't see any reason why Mr. Burney would be deported. Indian babu-dom is capable of anything.

May be you are right. But i dont think so The Immigration staff at Dehli airport is that much illiterate.


This is very intersting that afterwards the indians were saying he was deported on orders of Pakistan
Which later proved wrong.
This is an Embarrassment for INDIA.

Its unfortuante that Ansar was working for the welfare of Indians and the Indians sting him back for that good just like a snake.

 

[vish]

May be you are right. But i dont think so The Immigration staff at Dehli airport is that much illiterate.


This is very intersting that afterwards the indians were saying he was deported on orders of Pakistan
Which later proved wrong.
This is an Embarrassment INDIA.

It is embarrassing and unfortunate, no denial. I just hope Mr. Burney's deportation order is cancelled. The report says that he was deported because he wrongly mentioned his port of embarkation.

The “look out” remark was more of an instinctive response; the bureaucrat responsible will get a rather decent posting soon, or so I hope. But no where in the report that you’ve posted is it mentioned that he was deported on Pakistan’s insistence.

Its unfortuante that Ansar was working for the welfare of Indians and the Indians sting him back for that good just like a snake.

Seriously, why jump the gun?

 

[Spring Onion]

It is embarrassing and unfortunate, no denial. I just hope Mr. Burney's deportation order is cancelled. The report says that he was deported because he wrongly mentioned his port of embarkation.

The “look out” remark was more of an instinctive response; the bureaucrat responsible will get a rather decent posting soon, or so I hope. But no where in the report that you’ve posted is it mentioned that he was deported on Pakistan’s insistence.

Seriously, why jump the gun?

Let me tell you one thing dear. When i applied for Indian visa your embbasy Embassy despite my clear cut mentioning of one city as entry and exit point, had given me another city as exit and entry point due to which I had to cancelled my already one month advanced flights reservations which had cost a lot of money seriously.
The same thing happened with another fellow.
And I tell you it was deliberately done on part of Indian authorities just to tease and bother Pakistani nationals visiting India.

In case of Ansar Burney if the embarking point was wrongly mentioned (if at all it was the case) just tell me such minor things could not be or should not be taken care of at the official level at the airports ???

And since my visit to India believe I have noticed many minor things which could be handled at Embassy level or at the immigration rather than making life of the visitors hell and costing them unnecessarily.

As far as jumping the gun well my dear India had sent 4 dead bodies of Pakistanis jailed in India in only one month.

 

[vish]

Let me tell you one thing dear. When i applied for Indian visa your embbasy Embassy despite my clear cut mentioning of one city as entry and exit point, had given me another city as exit and entry point due to which I had to cancelled my already one month advanced flights reservations which had cost a lot of money seriously.
The same thing happened with another fellow.
And I tell you it was deliberately done on part of Indian authorities just to tease and bother Pakistani nationals visiting India.

In case of Ansar Burney if the embarking point was wrongly mentioned (if at all it was the case) just tell me such minor things could not be or should not be taken care of at the official level at the airports ???

And since my visit to India believe I have noticed many minor things which could be handled at Embassy level or at the immigration rather than making life of the visitors hell and costing them unnecessarily.

As far as jumping the gun well my dear India had sent 4 dead bodies of Pakistanis jailed in India in only one month.

Firstly, I do agree that Pakistanis have to face a lot of redtape and discrimination when they visit India. It is something that I despise and I do hope it goes away soon.

The redtape in India is very pathetic and more so if you are a Pakistani national. I'm unaware that India has sent bodies of four Pakistani nationals who were in Indian jails. If that is indeed so, then it is unfortunate.

When I say "jump the gun" I meant to say that it is unknown why Mr. Burney has been deported: was it a goof-up or was it intentional. So to simply assume that "the Indians sting him (Burney) back for that good just like a snake" is "jumping the gun."

If prooved that there is no goof-up and he indeed was deported, then you have every right to make the above statement, but not generalize it.

 

[Spring Onion]

Firstly, I do agree that Pakistanis have to face a lot of redtape and discrimination when they visit India. It is something that I despise and I do hope it goes away soon.

The redtape in India is very pathetic and more so if you are a Pakistani national. I'm unaware that India has sent bodies of four Pakistani nationals who were in Indian jails. If that is indeed so, then it is unfortunate.

When I say "jump the gun" I meant to say that it is unknown why Mr. Burney has been deported: was it a goof-up or was it intentional. So to simply assume that "the Indians sting him (Burney) back for that good just like a snake" is "jumping the gun."

If prooved that there is no goof-up and he indeed was deported, then you have every right to make the above statement, but not generalize it.

By saying that i didnt mean the common Indians as i found the common south indians more humble but found the wealthy Brahmans and so-called intellectuals there running high business the real reason for spreading hate not only against Pakistan but for poor hindus too.

 

[vish]

By saying that i didnt mean the common Indians as i found the common south indians more humble but found the wealthy Brahmans and so-called intellectuals there running high business the real reason for spreading hate not only against Pakistan but for poor hindus too.

Again this is a generalization. Not all Brahmins or "so-called intellectuals" or "people running the businesses" are proponents of castesism or anti-Pakistanism.

Some, yes; however, even some common Indians hate Pakistan.

Further, sometimes this hatred is just; sometimes it is not.

Same is the case for Pakistan/Pakistanis, or for that matter, any other group in the world.

 

[Neo]

Pakistan has no role in Burney's deportation: Brother​

31 May, 2008

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Pakistan government has told leading rights activist Ansar Burney's family that it had no role in his deportation from India to Dubai, his brother said on Saturday.

"I spoke to the Foreign Office and the officials told me that Pakistan had no role in the deportation," Sarim Burney, the activist's brother, said.

Ansar Burney, who played a key role in the release of Indian death row prisoner Kashmir Singh and has been campaigning for clemency for another death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh, was deported from New Delhi shortly after he arrived at Indira Gandhi Airport on Friday night.

Indian officials said he was deported because a "look-out" notice had been issued against him.

Sarim, who works with his elder brother in the Burney Welfare Trust, said the Trust would ask the Pakistan foreign office to take up the issue with the Indian authorities.

"Some people are saying that he was deported because he was taking up the issue of Pakistani prisoners being held in Indian jails. They are suggesting that there is some sort of understanding between the two countries that the issue of prisoners should be taken up only by the two governments and not by individuals like Ansar Burney," Sarim said.

He said the people of India should question their government on Burney's deportation, especially as he had done a lot for the cause of Indian prisoners in Pakistan.

Sarim said Burney had flown on Saturday morning from Dubai to London, where he would decide his next course of action.

Sarim claimed that Indian authorities at the Attari and Munabao borders had detained around 200 or more Pakistanis on charges of travelling on tampered visas.

"The embassy has confirmed 80 to us but we have got 100 applications from affected families. Ansar had gone there to not only attend a seminar on human rights but also speak to the Indian authorities on the detention of these innocent Pakistani prisoners," he said.

Burney came under criticism in Pakistan for his humanitarian work to secure the release of Indian prisoners including the high profile Kashmir Singh case.

He had visited India in April and met Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon. He had also met Sarabjit's family in Amritsar and filed a fresh petition seeking clemency for him on the basis of evidence provided by the family.

President Pervez Musharraf approved in February a mercy petition filed on behalf of Kashmir Singh, who spent 35 years on death row in Pakistani jails, by the human rights ministry, which was then headed by Burney.

Pakistan has no role in Burney's deportation: Brother- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

 

[Spring Onion]

Indian Govt's clarification on deportation unconvincing: Burney
31 May 2008, 2016 hrs IST,PTI




NEW DELHI: Within minutes of government denying that Ansar Burney was deported, the former Pakistan Human Rights Minister reacted sharply saying the statement was in "bad taste" and that "India should have come out with the truth".
"I was deported and even made to sign papers regarding this. This is not fair. At least the government should have come out with the truth now," Burney said over phone. His reaction came moments after Union Home Ministry, in its vague two-paragraph statement, claimed that Burney was "denied entry, and not deported" on account of "inadequate documentation".

"The statement is in bad taste. Whatever has happened has happened. Now the government should have come out with the actual picture," he said.

"These were the very same documents that took me to India only six weeks back," Burney said and added that he had no plans to visit India as of now.

He said a Joint Secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs had called him up in London to express regrets about the incident and also invited him to come to India anytime.

Burney was deported on Friday night upon his arrival from Dubai. "I was asked to sign deportation papers and hurriedly packed into the Emirate Airlines flight which took me back to Dubai," he said.

Govt's clarification on deportation unconvincing: Burney -India-The Times of India

 

[Flintlock]

Oh big deal...its some bureaucratic mess...he'll be having his pic snapped in front of the Taj in no time.

 

[BATMAN]

Pakistani minister denied entry to India
By ASHOK SHARMA – 10 hours ago

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian immigration authorities refused entry to a former Pakistan human rights minister who helped Indians imprisoned in Pakistani jails, including a convicted spy who spent 18 years on death row, officials said Saturday.

Ansar Burney, who served as human rights minister in Pakistan's caretaker government earlier this year, had planned to attend a terrorism conference in New Delhi organized by a local rights group.

"This is the most heartbreaking moment in my life ... I can't understand how the Indian government could deport a person who is relentlessly working for the good of Indians lodged in Pakistani jails," The Times of India newspaper quoted Burney as saying before being deported Friday at New Delhi's airport.

Indian media and Burney's local hosts expressed outrage at the authorities' decision. The Home Ministry ordered an investigation into why he had been sent back to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, from where he had flown to New Delhi, ministry spokesman Onkar Kedia said.

In March, Burney successfully petitioned Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to pardon an Indian man on humanitarian grounds who had spent 35 years in jail for alleged espionage.

He also played a key part in getting the execution of a convicted Indian spy, Sarabjit Singh, stayed by the Pakistan government. Singh, who had spent 18 years on death row, was due to be hanged April 1.

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. However, they signed a pact this month granting consular access to prisoners in each other's jails, the latest step in a four-year peace process.

Jana, I also had my worst life experience of dealing with airport authorities in Bombay India.
I was just transiting because I was travelling to Mauritius and I had only two options either use airindia or travell through SouthAfrica and the troubles actually started from Karachi airport while checking in. I was conviniently singled out from all other fairly old co-passengers.
The indian guy who was perhaps staff was supervising the whole checking in and asked me to wait and told me it is possible that he may not even board me because of my long transit 11-hrs. so I was perhaps the last passenger to check in.
The moment I arrive at bombay airport a young chap came and took my passport away and dissappeared without giving me any reasons. Few hours later 5 guys took me to my luggage which was suppose to be loaded to other plane and asked me to open all my baggage on the road and questioned me if I had bombs? They could have easily put any thing in my baggage.
It did not ended here, infect at mauritus they informed about my departure and same thing started around six men started checking my suitcases and clothes and questioning my travel details. They stoped when they realise I was guest of the brother of their President and that was also a pleasent surprise for me.
There were many notable things happened to me during my 11 hrs stay at bomby airport apart from the unbearable stink and sofocation at the time of flights, perhaps poor ventilation design.
After that experience I will advise every Pakistani to stay away from india.
imagine, I never had to go out of the airport and had to stay in transit lounge all the time!

 

[Khalsa]

Burney was not deported, says Govt

NEW DELHI: An embarrassed Home Ministry on Saturday expressed regrets for sending back former Pakistan Human Rights Minister Ansar Burney upon his arrival at Delhi Airport on Friday night and said he was always welcome to visit India. ( Watch )

In a clarification that did not throw any light on the treatment meted out to Burney, who played a key role in getting Indian prisoner Kashmir Singh released from Pakistani jail, the Ministry said the "inconvenience" to him was "unfortunate and regrettable".

In the two-page clarification, the ministry took recourse to technicalities by arguing that Burney had been denied entry and not deported by the immigration official "on account of inadequate documentation".

This flies in the face of Burney's comments from London that he was asked to sign deportation papers and "hurriedly packed" into the Emirate Airlines flight which took him back to Dubai.

The Home Ministry pointed out that no such difficulty had arisen when Burney visited India in April this year when requisite information about his visit was available in advance.

The Home Ministry's clarification came after the Ministry of External Affairs has sought details from it.

The MEA had asked the MHA to state why Burney, who has been fighting for the cause of Indian prisoners in Pakistan, was deported.

Interestingly, during his visit to India last month, Burney had met Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.

Burney is currently pleading for clemency to Sarabjit Singh, who is facing death sentence in Pakistan in connection with a bomb blast case. During his visit, he had met the family of Sarabjit Singh in Amritsar.

Talking to TOI from Delhi airport, Burney had said, "This is the most heartbreaking moment in my life... I can't understand how the Indian government could deport a person who is relentlessly working for the good of Indians lodged in Pakistani jails."

Burney said he was not given any reason by the immigration officials but was told to go back to Dubai.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Khalsa JI,

This warning has been issued several times in the past, and is being issued again - to you this time, as you might have guessed

We strongly urge our members to not merely cut and paste articles (we can all use web browsers well enough to go to the Dawn of ToI websites) but also offer some commentary on what exactly the reader is supposed to gain from the article.

For example, from the above article i would take that the GoI has not given a convincing explanation of why Burney was deported. Why would Burney lie about being deported? Why would the documents used for prior visits not be acceptable this time etc.

I have come across several threads and posts where all you have done is post an article without any opinions.

Any more and I shall start deleting them.