Kashmiri engineer suspected to be ISIS sympathiser deported from UAE

Zargar, an engineer, was picked up by the authorities in Dubai on April 28 this year when he was entering into the Gulf country from Oman, officials told PTI. Zargar, who used to work with a telecom company in Dubai, maintained that he had travelled to Oman for setting up a handcrafts business.

One of his kin had approached External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter for help in the matter. The Indian Consulate General in Dubai had initiated the process to reach out to the man after the Swaraj’s intervention. However, the Dubai authorities had refused to entertain any plea until they had completed their own investigation in the case.

The Dubai authorities interrogated him on his social networking activities, especially his appreciation for ISIS-related posts. They also carried out searches at his apartment.

Zargar is the third Kashmiri to have been deported in recent times after being accused of sympathising with the ISIS. Before him, Srinagar-resident Afshan Parvaiz was deported from Ankara on May 25 while another young man named Parvaiz was deported from Tehran on March 23. Another youth from Ganderbal, Azhar ul Islam, was deported from the UAE last year for being an alleged ISIS sympathiser.