Burney always welcome to visit India: Govt

An embarrassed Home Ministry expressed regrets for sending back Ansar Burney upon his arrival at Delhi airport.

An embarrassed Home Ministry expressed regrets for sending back former Pakistan Human Rights Minister Ansar Burney upon his arrival at Delhi airport on Friday night and said he was always welcome to visit India.

In a clarification that did not throw any light on the treatment meted out to Burney, who played a key role in getting Indian prisoner Kashmir Singh released from Pakistani jail, the Ministry said the 8216;inconvenience8217; to him was 8216;unfortunate and regrettable8217;.

In the two-page clarification, the Ministry took recourse to technicalities by arguing that Burney had been denied entry and not deported by the immigration official 8216;on account of inadequate documentation8217;.

This flies in the face of Burney8217;s comments from London that he was asked to sign deportation papers and 8216;hurriedly packed8217; into the Emirate Airlines flight which took him back to Dubai.

The Home Ministry pointed out that no such difficulty had arisen when Burney visited India in April, 2008 when requisite information about his visit was available in advance.

8220;The inconvenience to Burney is unfortunate and regrettable and he is always welcome to visit India,8221; the Ministry said.

The Home Ministry8217;s clarification came after the Ministry of External Affairs has sought details from it.

Story continues below this ad

The MEA had asked the MHA to state why Burney, who has been fighting for the cause of Indian prisoners in Pakistan, was deported.

Burney, who came here last night to attend a conference on terrorism, was immediately sent back from the Indira Gandhi International Airport to Dubai from where he had arrived.

MHA sources said the former Human Rights Minister of Pakistan was sent back because of a 8216;look-out notice8217; against him.

Interestingly, during his visit to India last month, Burney had met Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.

Story continues below this ad

Burney is currently pleading for clemency to Sarabjit Singh, who is facing death sentence in Pakistan in connection with a bomb blast case. During his visit, he had met the family of Sarabjit Singh in Amritsar.