India cancels visa of Chinese dissident Dolkun Isa

The Narendra Modi government has cancelled the visa given to a leading Uighur dissident to participate in a conference in Dharamsala.

The revocation is being seen as a move made under pressure from the Chinese government.

The cancellation of the visa is a U-turn on India’s part after having issued it to Dolkun Isa only last week. Isa, a leader of World Uyghur Congress (WUC), was invited to the conference organised by the US-based “Initiatives for China”.

However, defending the decision to cancel the visa given to a leading Chinese dissident, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said the WUC leader had applied for the travel document in the wrong category, leading to the cancellation of the visa. “He (Dolkun Isa) had given wrong information on why he wanted to visit India. The e-visa application said he wanted to come as a tourist though he was coming here to attend a conference, and that is why we had to cancel his visa,” he said. Mr Rijiju, who handles visa issues in the home ministry, said Mr Isa should have applied for a conference visa rather than a tourist visa. But he applied for an e-visa and gave wrong information, Mr Rijiju said. The minister said India would have had to arrest Mr Isa if he visited here as an Interpol red corner notice is pending against him.

However, Mr Isa’s name does not figure in the list of wanted people published by Interpol.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah hit out at the Centre for cancelling Mr Isa’s visa. “What was all that chest thumping earlier,” Mr Abdullah asked on Twitter. “For the last few days we were treated to lots of self-congratulatory chest thumping about how this Govt is the 1st to stand up to China,” he added.

Meanwhile, reacting to the Indian move, the Chinese dissident said, “On April 23, I got a very short note by the Indian side that my visa is cancelled. There was no explanation.” Mr Isa said he did not know what exactly the reason was. “Maybe because of Chinese pressure put on the Indian government. But I do not know. I did not get any explanation from the Indian side,” he said.

India had last week granted WUC leaders visas to attend the conference. China views WUC leaders as backers of terrorism in its volatile Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province. The move to grant WUC leaders visas had come against the backdrop of Beijing blocking India’s bid to get Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar designated a terrorist by the UN.

China’s unhappiness about reports that Mr Isa had been given an Indian visa was reflected in Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying saying, “What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries.”