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In a dramatic backtrack India withdraws visa to Uyghur leader Dolkun Isa

by IBNS 25 Apr 2016, 09:37 am

New Delhi, Apr 35 (IBNS) In a virtual U-turn, India has withdrawn the visa issued to Germany-based Chinese dissident Dolkun Isa,media reports said.

The Hindu quoted Isa as saying that Indian officials have sent him an email stating that the visa issued to him has been cancelled.

“I really wanted to visit India. But I received an email on Saturday informing that my visa which was issued on April 6 has been cancelled. No explanations were given. No Indian official called me personally to convey this decision. It’s a very sad situation for us,” Isa told The Hindu from Berlin where he is based.

Media reports also quoted sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs as confirming the development.
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 New Delhi's decision to give visa to Isa to visit Dharamsala was seen as a counter to Beijing blocking India's bid at the United Nations (UN) to get Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist.

The Uyghur leader, originally a resident of China's Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province,had been given a tourist visa to attend a conference organised by a US-based organisation in Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, in Himachal Pradesh. The conference from April 28 to May will discuss democratic transformation in China.

Lodging a protest, , a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said he is a terrorist and must be brought to justice. China does not recognise the Tibetan government-in-exile and has been very critical of India's stand on Dalai Lama.