British lawmaker critical of India's Kashmir policy denied entry at Delhi airport

A British lawmaker, who is known for her critical comments on India's Kashmir policy, was denied entry at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday.

Debbie Abrahams, the chairperson of the "All Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir in Britain", said that she was treated "rudely" at the airport.

She claimed that the e-visa issued to her last October was "valid until October 2020".

On the other hand, Indian government sources maintained that she "did not have a valid visa" to visit India, and also that her visa had been "rejected" and she had been told about the same well in advance.

According to the British lawmaker's tweets, she arrived at the Delhi airport at 0850 hours local time on Monday and immediately she was taken to a cordoned off area marked as "Deportee Cell".

"I am just waiting to be deported, unless the Indian Government has a change of heart. I am prepared to let the fact that I have been treated like a criminal and I hope they will let me visit my family and friends."

Debbie has been quite critical of Indian Government's move last August to withdraw the special status given to India-occupied Kashmir. She was among a group of British lawmakers who wrote formal letters criticizing the revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution which guaranteed a special status to the region.