‘Ishfaq (name changed) is back in his rented room in Delhi. Ishfaq left his job for further studies in China but was sent back from the airport because his visa was stapled as a separate sheet and not stamped on the passport. Ishfaq is not the only one who had to come back from the airport, several other Kashmiris came back too. China is giving stapled visa to Kashmiris, which Indian immigration authorities don’t accept.

Ishfaq got admission in a Chinese university, but could not join the course. “My flight ticket for Beijing was for August 29, 2009 at 11 pm. I had to register at the Tsinghua University’s School of Public Policy and Management where, this June, I had won a scholarship for Masters Programme in International Development. However, on August 29, I was turned back by the immigration officials at the IGI saying that my visa is not correct, as it is not pasted but stapled. They said I should get something in written from the embassy stating that my visa is true and valid. I went to the embassy on the following Monday and explained the matter. However, they said though my visa is valid, they cannot issue a letter. They gave me their mobile numbers so that I could call from the airport and make the immigration officials speak to them. I went to the airport on September 2, and was again turned back and this time the immigration officials were very rude. The university gave me an extension only till September 22,” says Ishfaq.

... contd.