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It could not be confirmed immediately if the demonstrators included any Bangladeshis
A screengrab shows expatriates protesting in Fahaheel, Kuwait on June 10, 2022 Collected
Tribune Desk
June 12, 2022 8:22 AM
Amid growing furore both at home and abroad over controversial remarks by two Indian ruling party leaders over Prophet Muhammad, the Kuwaiti government has decided to repatriate the expatriate workers who on Friday joined protests over the issue.
However, it could not be confirmed immediately if the demonstrators included any Bangladeshis.
The Arab Times reports the protesters in question have violated the laws and rules of the county. Expatriates are not allowed to organize sit-ins or protests in the Kuwait.
The detectives are in the process of arresting them and referring to the deportation center to be deported to their countries and will be banned from entering Kuwait again, according to the Al Rai newspaper.
"All expats in Kuwait must respect Kuwait laws and not take part in any type of demonstrations," the government said in a release.
The protests were staged in Fahaheel, located in the Ahmadi Governorate of the Gulf nation.
Around 3.5 lakh Bangladeshis were employed in different sectors of the oil-rich country as of mid-2020. Foreigners make up nearly 3.4 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.6 million, says Gulf News.
Anger erupted in the Islamic world last week and around 20 countries including Kuwait have since called in their Indian ambassadors to condemn the remarks. A Kuwaiti supermarket also pulled Indian products.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Nupur Sharma made the remarks during a TV debate on May 26, while Naveen Jindal, who was media head of the BJP’s Delhi unit, had posted a tweet on June 1 about the Prophet. He deleted the tweet later.
Sharma was suspended and Jindal was expelled on June 5 after the diplomatic backlash. On Thursday, Delhi Police filed a first information report against the two.
In India and neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, Muslims took to the streets in huge numbers after Friday prayers. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, two protesters were killed in police firing.
Clampdown to intensify
The move to deport expatriates comes amid a security clampdown on illegal expatriates as part of efforts to expose violators of the country’s residency and labour laws. Around 600 violators have been rounded up in the raids so far, Al Anba newspaper reported. Kuwaiti police launched the operation earlier this week.
The crackdown is expected to pick momentum soon, a security source told Gulf News.