With no remorse, either from Interpol or the Iraqi authorities, on his month-long detention for mistaken identity, 51-year-old Kashmiri pilgrim Nazir Ahmad Dar has been released from jail and allowed to return to his home. A resident of Khushalsar wetland in Zadibal area of downtown Srinagar, Dar had been taken into custody by the Iraqi authorities on his arrival from Damascus, Syria, at Alnajaf International Airport on 30 December 2019, when his 70-member group was on the last leg of a four-country pilgrimage.
“For 13 days, I was kept at a police station in Najaf. For 14 days, I was held in a prison in Mussayib. I have never committed a crime in my life. I don’t know why they snatched away peace of my family and relatives and confined me for a month in the prison for no fault of mine,” Dar said in a telephonic conversation with The Quint before leaving for New Delhi via Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, 30 January.
Even after his clearance from the Indian embassy in Baghdad, the Iraqi government and the Interpol, whose Red Corner notice in the name of Dar’s namesake caused his arrest, Dar was stopped at Alnajaf International Aiport from travelling back to India. However, a timely intervention from one Abu Ali, representative of the tour and visa operator Anwar-ul-Mustafa, convinced the immigration authorities who ultimately permitted Dar to board his aircraft.
‘Brazen Violation of International Law’
Chief Executive of Anwar-ul-Mustafa’s India franchisee, Al-Hayat Hajj Umrah Travel Service, Mir Wali Waheed, who arranged for the pilgrimage of Dar’s group, described his detention as a “brazen violation of the international human rights and law”.
“The Indian embassy did its best to seek Dar’s release. They left no stone unturned to convince the authorities that Dar was a bona fide traveller and pilgrim with no criminal record. But unfortunately, they were unrelenting for the full month,” Mr Waheed told The Quint.
“Immediately after he was detained, we filed a petition in the local court. It was straightaway rejected. Thereafter, we approached their High Court with all the documentary evidences, including certificates from Srinagar Police and the Indian embassy, but the judge asserted that he would not order Dar’s release until Interpol withdrew its notice. We emphasised that the Interpol notice was in the name of a completely different person, Nazir Ahmad Dar of Sopore, and not in the name of Nazir Ahmad Dar of Zadibal, Srinagar. But the judge didn’t relent. He said that even if there was an intervention from Gandhi, he would not release this man,” Mr Waheed said.
After his release on 29 January, Dar in Baghdad called on Ambassador Birender S Yadav, along with the Kashmiri students in Najaf – Syed Masoom Jafri and Sheikh Nisar Ahmad. They received a certificate to ensure Dar’s free passage. Both, Jafri and Nisar Ahmad maintained that the Indian embassy staff were “very much cooperative” and made sustained efforts for the whole month to seek Dar’s release
‘On MEA to Make Iraqi Authorities Accountable’
“Had it happened to an American visitor, he would have claimed millions of dollars as compensation. This is now for our Ministry of External Affairs to make the Iraqi authorities and others accountable for such unwarranted actions and ensure that no Indian citizen is subjected to such trauma in future,” Mr Waheed said.
He disclosed that Dar’s family is now exploring legal options to seek appropriate compensation for his month-long imprisonment that traumatised him and his family for no fault of theirs. “We travelled from India to Saudi Arabia to Iran to Syria to Iraq. Interpol is present everywhere there. Why was he not stopped at any airport in these countries?” Mr Waheed asserted.
As early as on 4 January, Station House Officer Zadibal had written to Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar vide No: 6A/ZBL/2020/10 that Dar had no involvement in any criminal activity. “Report obtained reveals that particulars of individual (Nazir Ahmad Dar) viz name, parentage and residential address were found correct and (he) is not involved in any incriminating activity,” SHO Zadibal certified. It was communicated to Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and the Indian embassy in Baghdad.
The Indian embassy wrote letters No: BAG/2020/004 Dated 07-01-2020, No: BAG/2020/013 Dated 14-01-2020 and No: BAG/2020/024 Dated 21-01-2020 to the Iraqi authorities who finally agreed to release Dar on 25 January. He went through a great deal of mental torture and trauma during his detention as he would speak and understand only the Kashmiri language and his group, including his wife Bismillah and four of his neighbours, was asked to return to New Delhi by the flight scheduled on 12 January.
Indian Embassy in Iraq Wrote Letter to Facilitate Dar’s ‘Smooth Passage’
“However, this detained person (Mr Nazir Ahmad Dar) was a case of mistaken identity and he had travelled from Delhi on 03.12.2019 along with a group of 70 persons for pilgrimage/Umrah. The matter was checked and examined by the concerned originator of the Interpol Red corner notice in India (ie NIA in present case). This was duly conveyed by Embassy of India, Baghdad, and Interpol India. Mr Nazir was finally released on 25.01.2020. Owing to the mental torture and trauma, this letter is being issued to facilitate smooth passage from Iraq to India for Mr Nazir Ahmad Dar,” the Indian Embassy letter No: BAG/2020 dated 29 January, addressed to Consular Department of MEA, Republic of Iraq, mentions.
Dar explained that the Interpol lookout notice was for one Nazir Ahmad Dar of Harwan, Bommai, Sopore, whose parentage and date of birth matched that of the visitor Nazir Ahmad Dar of Zadibal, Srinagar. “I was 17 years old when my father died. My mother went for her second marriage in a neighbouring family. Their surname was also Dar but they were commonly known as ‘Sopori’. On account of this, my mother’s name in my passport (N-9626344) was entered as Khatija Sopori. This perhaps led to the whole confusion,” Dar said.
Who’s Nazir Dar of Sopore – Wanted by Interpol?
The Quint learned from NIA that a Hizbul Mujahideen militant Nazir Ahmad Dar of Harwan Bommai, Sopore, born in the year 1969, was among a number of terrorists who were involved in subversive activities and wanted by India in different criminal cases. Officials said that the militant’s year of birth was 1969 but his date of birth did not exist in the Red Corner notice, which describes his involvement as “criminal conspiracy, offences relating to membership of a terrorist organisation and support given to a terrorist organisation, raising fund for a terrorist organization.”
According to the records of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Nazir Ahmad Dar of Harwan Sopore crossed the LoC in 1993. He joined a camp of Hizbul Mujahideen but did not return to Kashmir. He also happens to be a close relative of the local Congress leader and former MLA of Sopore, Haji Abdul Rashid Dar, whose daughter is married to the militant’s brother.
In November 2019, Enforcement Directorate got six marlas of Dar’s land attached in Sopore. Believed to be hiding in Pakistan, Dar has not responded to the Interpol notices to the Pakistani authorities.
Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbagh Singh said that only the Interpol and NIA could speak about Dar’s Red Corner notice and why an innocent Indian citizen had suffered simply for being the fugitive militant’s namesake. “It happens very rarely when someone is held on mistaken identity. Normally, such individuals are questioned and released immediately after quick verification of their antecedents. I don’t know why it has taken so long in affecting Mr Dar’s release,” DGP said.
He asserted that J&K Police had lost no time to verify the detained pilgrim’s antecedents and had immediately communicated to the concerned that Mr Dar had no criminal involvement.
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