Facing the consequences of an irresponsible act on part of Indian Immigration Office and Indian Airlines, a 12-year-old girl from Kashmir capital Srinagar was deported along with her mother from Doha Airport simply because the minor girl was not (Covid) vaccinated. The mother-daughter duo was detained at Doha Airport for two consecutive days while all efforts from the father of the little girl to meet the duo went futile as the authorities didn’t allow Insha Khan (father) a meeting with the duo.
Insha Khan who lives in Rambagh area of Srinagar city is an engineer by forte and currently based in Qatar. Two days back, after clearance from the Indian authorities, his better-half Sheeba and 12-year-old daughter Duha Khan boarded a plane and landed at Doha Airport. But to the shock of Insha Khan, he was not allowed to meet his wife and daughter as the airport authorities deported mother-daughter duo citing the reason that Duha Khan is not vaccinated.
“My daughter Duha is only 12 and you know in India, people below 18 years are not vaccinated and that is why we didn’t vaccinate Duha. But in Qatar, the airport authorities said that they don’t allow entry of those who are above 11 and are not vaccinated. I tried everything to persuade them but all in vain,” Khan told Kashmir based news agency Kashmir News Trust.
“I approached Indian Embassy twice but all in vain. The attitude of Indian Immigration Office was callous. As they say nobody can fully understand another person’s hardship or suffering. I was restless when I was denied a meeting with my daughter and wife. They were penniless and without food and water,” he said.
He said it was painful to see his wife and daughter being deported to India. Pertinently, the Visa and Immigration Consultant is responsible for helping individuals who are internationally relocating. Their main role is to ensure the client avoids any legal issues that may occur in relation to their relocation by assisting them to obtain visas and other related immigration documentation.
“Nobody helped me. Every country follows its own rules and laws but my question to Immigration Office and Airlines is that how they gave clearance to my 12-year-old daughter when they knew the rules of Qatar with regard to vaccination. Is it simply to let people suffer and keep on grabbing money from them,” Khan questioned and sought intervention from Government of India.
“It’s not the question of wastage of money only but it is a human issue that needs to be looked into so that others may not suffer in future. Whey didn’t Immigration Office and Indian Embassy informed Airport Authorities in Doha that people below 18 are not vaccinated,” he said. (KNT)