Trump effect? Two Kashmiri athletes denied US visa

JAMMU: The United States embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday denied visa to an athlete from Jammu and Kashmir citing the country’s current policy, without defining what it was.

The disappointed athlete Tanvir Hussain, 24, a snowshoe champion from J&K had to participate in the World Snow-Shoe Championship to be held at Saranac Lake in New York. Hussain was accompanied by his coach Abid Khan who was denied a visa too.

Later, Khan shared the incident with Saranac Lake Mayor Clyde Rabideau, on social media, who assured the duo of help.


“This will not stand. Do not give up! We will do all we can,” Rabideau wrote on Facebook, in his conversation with Khan. In the conversation with the Mayor, Khan said, “the lady officer at the US embassy in New Delhi after checking all documents, went to another room and on returning said, ‘sorry, due to our current policy we can’t issue you visa’.”

The embassy’s decision comes after US President Donald Trump in an executive order banned the entry of citizens and migrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia Yemen and Libya to the United States and decided to subject people from other nations like Afghanistan and Pakistan to heavy scrutiny.

However, the ban had not mentioned people from any region of India.