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Scoop
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
India: Government Arbitrarily Detained & Forcibly Transferred Rohingya Human Rights Defender In Defiance Of U.N. Ruling
Bangkok, 27 May 2025 The Government of India arbitrarily detained Rohingya human rights defender Mohammad Arfat for more than four years without due process, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled, Fortify Rights said today. The recent ruling, which responds to a complaint filed by Fortify Rights in May 2024, calls on Indian authorities to provide Mohammad Arfat with reparations, prevent future violations, and cooperate with the U.N. Refugee Agency to ensure his protection and potential resettlement. More than 40 days after the Working Group issued its decision, Indian authorities defied the U.N. ruling, forcibly transferring Mohammad Arfat to another country, where he now remains in hiding due to ongoing threats to his security. 'India's prolonged and arbitrary detention of Mohammad Arfat was both unlawful and unconscionable. He should never have been detained, let alone forcibly transferred out of India following the ruling,' said John Quinley, Director of Fortify Rights. 'The U.N. Working Group's opinion reaffirms what we have known all along—India violated international law by detaining a recognized refugee for years, and then put him even further in harm's way.' In the published opinion, adopted during its 101st session, the U.N. Working Group determined that India's detention of Mohammad Arfat since 2018 was arbitrary, lacked any legal basis, and deprived him of due process. The opinion finds that his detention was based solely on his status as a Rohingya refugee and that India violated key provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—to which India is a state party and legally bound to uphold— including Articles 9 and 14, which protect against arbitrary detention and ensure the right to a fair trial. Upon his release from arbitrary detention, Mohammad Arfat told Fortify Rights: I was beaten by Indian police when I was first detained. … My health [after years] in Indian detention was not good, and I could not see a doctor. I became very sick over the years. … Now [after my release and transfer] I feel mentally and physically unwell. The U.N. Working Group is a body of independent human rights experts established by the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate and provide opinions on cases of deprivation of liberty that are allegedly arbitrary or inconsistent with international standards. Fortify Rights filed the 20-page complaint to the Working Group on May 30, 2024, along with an annex of more than 90 pages supporting Mohammad Arfat's case and his right to liberty. The U.N. Working Group's opinion in response to Fortify Rights' submission expressed grave concern for Mohammad Arfat and recommended that Indian authorities: [E]nd the arbitrary detention of Mr. Arfat by immediately and unconditionally releasing him and to liaise with UNHCR to grant him protection and a remedy, befitting his status as an asylum-seeker, which could include resettlement in a third country. The U.N. Working Group also recommended that the Indian government provide 'compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law,' for the harm caused to Mohammad Arfat, and that those responsible for the violation of his rights be held accountable, urging the Government 'to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Arfat and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.' Instead, India forcibly transferred Mohammad Arfat to another country shortly after the ruling. In addition to Mohammad Arfat's case, beginning on May 6, 2025, Fortify Rights documented how Indian authorities carried out mass arrests of Rohingya refugees in New Delhi. The next day, the authorities forced at least 40 of them back to Myanmar, where the military junta has been carrying out a genocidal campaign and where the Arakan Army — an ethnic resistance army fighting the Myanmar military junta in an ongoing revolution — has also carried out atrocities against the Rohingya people. In this instance, the India Navy dumped the refugees into the sea near the Myanmar border, placing their lives at grave risk in violation of international law. During the same crackdown, India also forcibly deported other Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh, which hosts more than one million Rohingya refugees in crowded and tightly controlled camps. On May 15, 2025, Tom Andrews, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, called India's forcing Rohingya into the sea 'unconscionable' and 'outrageous' and, in response, he launched an inquiry. Andrews said in a statement that forced returns to Myanmar are a 'serious violation of the principle of non-refoulment, a fundamental tenet of international law that prohibits states from returning individuals to a territory where they face threats to their lives or freedom.' Furthermore, on March 3, three U.N. experts, including Special Rapporteur Andrews, raised concerns about India's 'widespread, arbitrary and indefinite detention of refugees from Myanmar' in a letter to the Indian government: Conditions in places of detention are reportedly dire. Detainees from Myanmar, the majority of whom are Rohingya, are reportedly held in severely overcrowded cells, and do not receive adequate nutrition, clean water, or medical care. Facilities are reportedly unsanitary. Detainees lack clean clothes, bedding, and access to sunlight. Many detainees are reportedly suffering from illness, infections and other medical problems and are unable to access adequate medical care. India must immediately end its arbitrary and indefinite detention of refugees and provide reparations to all harmed by the government's reckless and violent crackdown on their rights, said Fortify Rights. India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol and lacks a domestic asylum law; however, it remains obligated to respect the international customary law principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forced return of refugees to situations where they are likely to face persecution and other serious human rights abuses. India's forcible return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar—where they face grave risks of persecution, violence, or death—also violates several international treaties to which India is a state party, including the ICCPR (Articles 6, 7, and 9), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 6 and 22), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Article 5). Forcibly returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar also violates the Genocide Convention, to which India is a state party, said Fortify Rights. By returning victims of genocide to a country where that genocide is ongoing, India may be failing in its obligation to prevent genocide under international law. Moreover, by knowingly contributing to the continuing genocide through the forced return of survivors, India risks legal complicity in the very crimes the Convention is meant to prevent. 'India has legal obligations to protect Rohingya refugees under treaties it willfully entered into,' said John Quinley. 'India should immediately and unconditionally free all refugees in detention and provide compensation for any harms inflicted.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How aid becomes a weapon in Myanmar's war zone
In the immediate aftermath of an earthquake, there is a 72-hour "golden window" when those trapped under rubble are most likely to survive. But in the 72 hours after a 7.7 magnitude quake struck Myanmar on Friday, rescue and relief workers seeking access to some of the worst-hit areas were blocked by military authorities, multiple aid and human rights groups told the BBC. This was despite a rare plea for international humanitarian assistance by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing. "I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help," he said in a speech shortly after the disaster, claiming he had "opened all ways for foreign aid". On the ground, things moved less freely. "I've talked to a few people now that were part of the rescue efforts in both Sagaing and Mandalay, and they said that [the military] imposed a curfew… the roads were blocked, the checkpoints were really long, and there was a huge checking of goods and services going in and a lot of questioning," John Quinley, director of international human rights group Fortify Rights, told the BBC. "It could have just been a lot easier to allow those people in," he added. "Obviously the Myanmar junta said it was for safety reasons, but I don't believe that's totally legitimate." Meanwhile, the golden window closed. At the time of writing, more than 2,886 people in Myanmar are confirmed dead as a result of the earthquake. On Tuesday night, an attack on an aid convoy further exacerbated concerns. At 21:21, a convoy of nine Chinese Red Cross Society vehicles carrying earthquake relief supplies was attacked by the military, according to Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a resistance group in Shan State. The convoy was traveling toward Mandalay when it was fired upon by soldiers with machine guns, forcing it to turn back, the TNLA said in a Telegram post late on Tuesday. A junta spokesperson later confirmed that soldiers had shot at the vehicles, saying they had not been notified that the convoy would be passing through and fired warning shots after it failed to stop. But this is not the first time the junta has attacked aid workers, Mr Quinley said. "They pick and choose when aid can go in, and if they can't monitor it and they can't use it how they want, they restrict it," he said. "They definitely also, on top of that, actively target humanitarian workers." The junta, which began fighting a civil war with resistance forces in Myanmar after it seized control of the country in 2021, has a history of weaponising aid and humanitarian assistance: funnelling it towards areas that are under its control and restricting it in areas that are not. The BBC assessed the power balance in more than 14,000 village groups as of mid-November last year, and found the military only has full control of 21% of Myanmar's territory, nearly four years on from the start of the conflict. In previous natural disasters, such as Cyclone Mocha in 2023 and Typhoon Yagi in 2024, which left hundreds dead, the military obstructed relief efforts in resistance-held areas by refusing to release supplies from customs, authorise travel for aid workers or relax restrictions on lifesaving assistance. "It's a worrying trend that happens in times of crisis, like the earthquake," Mr Quinley said. "The junta is blocking any aid to what they see as groups that are aligned with the broader resistance." James Rodehaver, head of the Myanmar team at the Office for the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, further suggested that the junta deprives Myanmar's population of aid as a form of punishment. "They do that because the local population, by and large, does not support them, so by depriving them of humanitarian aid, they are both punishing them but also cutting off their ability to support themselves and be resilient," he told the BBC. There are already signs the junta may be repeating this tactic in Sagaing. Although central Myanmar, which includes the cities of Sagaing and Mandalay, is nominally run by the junta - meaning aid can only be delivered to the area with their co-operation - large parts of the broader Sagaing and Mandalay regions are considered resistance strongholds. The likelihood that the junta might tactically deprive these areas of aid has prompted outcry from hundreds of human rights and civil society organisations, who have urged the international community to ensure relief efforts get to where they're most needed, and aren't channelled through the military government. One such statement, signed by 265 civil society organisations and released on Sunday, notes that most of the worst-hit areas are under the effective control and administration of pro-democracy resistance groups. "Myanmar's history provides stark warnings about the dangers of channelling aid through the military junta," it reads. In Sagaing, the impact of aid shortfalls can already be seen in troubling ways, according to relief agencies. They speak of shortages of food, water and fuel, while trucks carrying aid are stranded at military checkpoints around the city. Hundreds of residents, suddenly homeless, are sleeping outside on the street. Rescue volunteers who were forced to dig through the rubble with their bare hands have run out of body bags for those they couldn't save. Other community members seeking to respond to the earthquake are being forced to get authorisation from junta authorities by submitting lists of volunteers and items to be donated, local media reported. This tactic – of bombarding responders with lengthy bureaucratic checklists and processes – is routinely deployed by the junta to restrict the activities of international aid organisations in Myanmar, humanitarian sources told the BBC. According to a registration law imposed in 2023, such organisations must attain a registration certificate, and often sign a memorandum of understanding with relevant government ministries, to legally operate inside the country. One source, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said aid groups are often required to remove certain activities, areas or townships from their proposals, with no room for negotiation. Areas where the junta doesn't have oversight or control over the aid work are typically those that are disallowed, they added. Aid agencies have found ways to navigate the junta's restriction, however: a lot of humanitarian assistance in Myanmar happens underground, via local groups that can bypass checkpoints and distribute aid without attracting the attention of the authorities. Many financial transactions in humanitarian aid also happen outside of Myanmar's banking system, so that actors can avoid scrutiny and potential investigation from the country's central bank, a source told the BBC. In some cases, humanitarian organisations open bank accounts in Thailand so that they can privately receive aid funds, then carry the money over the border into Myanmar in cash. Such covert methods take time, however, and could lead to potentially fatal delays of days or weeks. Some aid workers are hopeful that, given the scale of Friday's earthquake and the international appeal for assistance by Min Aung Hlaing, it may be easier to overcome barriers and provide aid more efficiently. "In the past we have faced some challenges," said Louise Gorton, an emergency specialist based in Unicef's East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. "The scale of this emergency, though, is significantly higher… I think there will be pressure on the regime to ensure unfettered and unimpeded humanitarian access - and we'll continue to repeat the same need and find ways, sometimes low-key ways, to deliver aid." Cara Bragg, country manager for the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) team in Myanmar, said that while it's too early to tell whether the junta will truly "open all ways for foreign aid", her team is prepared to navigate the complex humanitarian situation to deliver assistance. "It's certainly a concern that they [the military] may direct the aid in specific places, and not based on need," said Ms Bragg, who is based in Yangon. "But as humanitarian actors CRS works under a humanitarian mandate, and will be very focused on getting aid to the places it needs to go - to the hardest-hit areas, regardless of who controls them." Early indications suggest that, despite Min Aung Hlaing's plea to the international community, the embattled junta leader is unlikely to prioritise the unfettered flow of humanitarian aid. Shortly after the earthquake, military jets launched a series of airstrikes on affected areas, killing more than 50 civilians, according to the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC). Then, on Tuesday, Min Aung Hlaing rejected ceasefire proposals that were put forward by resistance groups in a bid to facilitate aid. Military operations would continue as "necessary protective measures", he said. The junta changed its mind a day later, agreeing to 20-day ceasefire to help relief efforts. But it remains to be seen whether the pause in hostilities holds – the military stressed it would "respond accordingly" if rebels launched attacks. For many onlookers, this seeming contradiction - of asking for aid with one hand while conducting military strikes with the other - chimes with Min Aung Hlaing's history of duplicity. John Quinley, from Fortify Rights, suggested that the recent appeal for foreign aid is more likely an appeal for international recognition. Speaking before the military's ceasefire announcement, he noted that the junta leader had "lied on numerous occasions about ceasefires and the gross violations he's commanded". Against that backdrop, Mr Quinley added, it's critical to ensure earthquake relief gets to where it is most needed. "I'm not hopeful when it comes to taking what Min Aung Hlaing says with any hint of truth," he said. "I think as a human rights group we need to monitor: OK, [Min Aung Hlaing] allows aid in - but is it actually reaching people in need? Or is he weaponising the aid? Is he blocking the aid from getting to communities in need?"
BBC News
02-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
How aid becomes a weapon in Myanmar's war zone
In the immediate aftermath of an earthquake, there is a 72-hour "golden window" when those trapped under rubble are most likely to in the 72 hours after a 7.7 magnitude quake struck Myanmar on Friday, rescue and relief workers seeking access to some of the worst-hit areas were blocked by military authorities, multiple aid and human rights groups told the was despite a rare plea for international humanitarian assistance by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing."I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help," he said in a speech shortly after the disaster, claiming he had "opened all ways for foreign aid".On the ground, things moved less freely."I've talked to a few people now that were part of the rescue efforts in both Sagaing and Mandalay, and they said that [the military] imposed a curfew… the roads were blocked, the checkpoints were really long, and there was a huge checking of goods and services going in and a lot of questioning," John Quinley, director of international human rights group Fortify Rights, told the BBC."It could have just been a lot easier to allow those people in," he added. "Obviously the Myanmar junta said it was for safety reasons, but I don't believe that's totally legitimate."Meanwhile, the golden window the time of writing, more than 2,886 people in Myanmar are confirmed dead as a result of the earthquake. On Tuesday night, an attack on an aid convoy further exacerbated 21:21, a convoy of nine Chinese Red Cross Society vehicles carrying earthquake relief supplies was attacked by the military, according to Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a resistance group in Shan convoy was traveling toward Mandalay when it was fired upon by soldiers with machine guns, forcing it to turn back, the TNLA said in a Telegram post late on Tuesday.A junta spokesperson later confirmed that soldiers had shot at the vehicles, saying they had not been notified that the convoy would be passing through and fired warning shots after it failed to this is not the first time the junta has attacked aid workers, Mr Quinley said."They pick and choose when aid can go in, and if they can't monitor it and they can't use it how they want, they restrict it," he said. "They definitely also, on top of that, actively target humanitarian workers." The junta, which began fighting a civil war with resistance forces in Myanmar after it seized control of the country in 2021, has a history of weaponising aid and humanitarian assistance: funnelling it towards areas that are under its control and restricting it in areas that are BBC assessed the power balance in more than 14,000 village groups as of mid-November last year, and found the military only has full control of 21% of Myanmar's territory, nearly four years on from the start of the conflict. In previous natural disasters, such as Cyclone Mocha in 2023 and Typhoon Yagi in 2024, which left hundreds dead, the military obstructed relief efforts in resistance-held areas by refusing to release supplies from customs, authorise travel for aid workers or relax restrictions on lifesaving assistance."It's a worrying trend that happens in times of crisis, like the earthquake," Mr Quinley said. "The junta is blocking any aid to what they see as groups that are aligned with the broader resistance."James Rodehaver, head of the Myanmar team at the Office for the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, further suggested that the junta deprives Myanmar's population of aid as a form of punishment."They do that because the local population, by and large, does not support them, so by depriving them of humanitarian aid, they are both punishing them but also cutting off their ability to support themselves and be resilient," he told the are already signs the junta may be repeating this tactic in central Myanmar, which includes the cities of Sagaing and Mandalay, is nominally run by the junta - meaning aid can only be delivered to the area with their co-operation - large parts of the broader Sagaing and Mandalay regions are considered resistance likelihood that the junta might tactically deprive these areas of aid has prompted outcry from hundreds of human rights and civil society organisations, who have urged the international community to ensure relief efforts get to where they're most needed, and aren't channelled through the military such statement, signed by 265 civil society organisations and released on Sunday, notes that most of the worst-hit areas are under the effective control and administration of pro-democracy resistance groups."Myanmar's history provides stark warnings about the dangers of channelling aid through the military junta," it reads. In Sagaing, the impact of aid shortfalls can already be seen in troubling ways, according to relief speak of shortages of food, water and fuel, while trucks carrying aid are stranded at military checkpoints around the city. Hundreds of residents, suddenly homeless, are sleeping outside on the street. Rescue volunteers who were forced to dig through the rubble with their bare hands have run out of body bags for those they couldn't community members seeking to respond to the earthquake are being forced to get authorisation from junta authorities by submitting lists of volunteers and items to be donated, local media tactic – of bombarding responders with lengthy bureaucratic checklists and processes – is routinely deployed by the junta to restrict the activities of international aid organisations in Myanmar, humanitarian sources told the to a registration law imposed in 2023, such organisations must attain a registration certificate, and often sign a memorandum of understanding with relevant government ministries, to legally operate inside the source, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said aid groups are often required to remove certain activities, areas or townships from their proposals, with no room for negotiation. Areas where the junta doesn't have oversight or control over the aid work are typically those that are disallowed, they agencies have found ways to navigate the junta's restriction, however: a lot of humanitarian assistance in Myanmar happens underground, via local groups that can bypass checkpoints and distribute aid without attracting the attention of the financial transactions in humanitarian aid also happen outside of Myanmar's banking system, so that actors can avoid scrutiny and potential investigation from the country's central bank, a source told the BBC. In some cases, humanitarian organisations open bank accounts in Thailand so that they can privately receive aid funds, then carry the money over the border into Myanmar in covert methods take time, however, and could lead to potentially fatal delays of days or weeks. Some aid workers are hopeful that, given the scale of Friday's earthquake and the international appeal for assistance by Min Aung Hlaing, it may be easier to overcome barriers and provide aid more efficiently."In the past we have faced some challenges," said Louise Gorton, an emergency specialist based in Unicef's East Asia and Pacific Regional Office."The scale of this emergency, though, is significantly higher… I think there will be pressure on the regime to ensure unfettered and unimpeded humanitarian access - and we'll continue to repeat the same need and find ways, sometimes low-key ways, to deliver aid."Cara Bragg, country manager for the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) team in Myanmar, said that while it's too early to tell whether the junta will truly "open all ways for foreign aid", her team is prepared to navigate the complex humanitarian situation to deliver assistance."It's certainly a concern that they [the military] may direct the aid in specific places, and not based on need," said Ms Bragg, who is based in Yangon. "But as humanitarian actors CRS works under a humanitarian mandate, and will be very focused on getting aid to the places it needs to go - to the hardest-hit areas, regardless of who controls them."Early indications suggest that, despite Min Aung Hlaing's plea to the international community, the embattled junta leader is unlikely to prioritise the unfettered flow of humanitarian aid. Shortly after the earthquake, military jets launched a series of airstrikes on affected areas, killing more than 50 civilians, according to the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC).Then, on Tuesday, Min Aung Hlaing rejected ceasefire proposals that were put forward by resistance groups in a bid to facilitate aid. Military operations would continue as "necessary protective measures", he junta changed its mind a day later, agreeing to 20-day ceasefire to help relief efforts. But it remains to be seen whether the pause in hostilities holds – the military stressed it would "respond accordingly" if rebels launched many onlookers, this seeming contradiction - of asking for aid with one hand while conducting military strikes with the other - chimes with Min Aung Hlaing's history of Quinley, from Fortify Rights, suggested that the recent appeal for foreign aid is more likely an appeal for international before the military's ceasefire announcement, he noted that the junta leader had "lied on numerous occasions about ceasefires and the gross violations he's commanded".Against that backdrop, Mr Quinley added, it's critical to ensure earthquake relief gets to where it is most needed."I'm not hopeful when it comes to taking what Min Aung Hlaing says with any hint of truth," he said."I think as a human rights group we need to monitor: OK, [Min Aung Hlaing] allows aid in - but is it actually reaching people in need? Or is he weaponising the aid? Is he blocking the aid from getting to communities in need?"
Gulf Today
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Bangladesh arrests notorious Rohingya militant leader
A Rohingya militant leader who directed attacks against Myanmar security forces which precipitated a humanitarian catastrophe was arrested on Tuesday by police in Bangladesh. Ata Ullah, 48, first surfaced nearly a decade ago as the charismatic leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an outfit formed to wage an insurgency against the stateless Muslim minority's persecution in Myanmar. Their attacks on police posts in 2017 sparked brutal reprisals that eventually sent around 750,000 Rohingya fleeing for their lives into squalid relief camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. The leader was arrested alongside five associates by the elite Rapid Action Battalion force on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, while another four of his associates were arrested in the central district of Mymensingh, police said. Ata Ullah was believed to have personally ordered the 2017 attacks and first came to public attention soon after in videos posted online, where he was seen flanked by masked gunmen and vowing to liberate the Rohingya from 'dehumanised oppression'. ARSA has been accused of killings, abductions, and torture in the refugee camps and the group's leader has been accused of ordering the murder of Rohingya civic leaders who dared to speak out against the group. He has also been accused of involvement in the murder of a Bangladeshi military intelligence officer. Tuesday's arrest came hours after a regional rights group said at least 65 Rohingya had been killed last year in clashes between rival militant groups competing for influence in Bangladeshi refugee camps. Ata Ullah's outfit, its chief rival the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation and other militant groups have for years waged a deadly battle for control of the camps. Fortify Rights documented 65 deaths last year along with dozens of assaults, abductions and acts of extortion blamed on 'militant and criminal groups' in the camps. The figure is down from 90 killings recorded in 2023 by the rights group. 'Rohingya armed groups are wreaking havoc in Bangladesh and Myanmar with near complete impunity,' the watchdog's director John Quinley told reporters in Dhaka at the launch of a new report into the violence. 'It's not only infighting that kills members of these militant outfits. Civilians are also victims.' The report called on Bangladesh's government to investigate the violence and hold perpetrators responsible, saying that some cases amounted to potential war crimes that warranted possible prosecution by international courts. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh last week where he promised to do 'everything' possible to avoid looming cuts to humanitarian aid. Funding shortfalls announced by the UN food agency this month could lead to a cut in monthly food vouchers from $12.50 to $6.00 per person at the camps from April. Successive aid cuts have already caused immense hardship in the overcrowded settlements among Rohingya, who are reliant on aid and suffer from rampant malnutrition. Bangladesh has struggled for years to support its immense refugee population, and Dhaka has said it is exploring ways to secure additional aid for Rohingya refugees. On the other hand, India is resisting pleas by Bangladesh to resume issuing normal volumes of medical visas, citing staffing shortages amid worsening ties, six sources said, giving China rare space to expand similar offerings and build people-to-people ties. The bulk of India's visas for Bangladeshis in 2023 went to those seeking its affordable private healthcare and Bengali-speaking hospital staff, helping to cement ties between the neighbours and limit China's regional influence. 'When there is a vacuum, others will come and fill the space,' one of four Bangladesh sources, most of them diplomats, told Reuters. 'Some people are going to Thailand and China.' Since August, India has handed out fewer than 1,000 medical visas each working day, down from a figure of 5,000 to 7,000, said the sources, who all sought anonymity, citing their terms of employment. Agencies
