New Delhi: The government has extended the
visa of controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin by
another year from August this year, shifting from its earlier
stand of asking her to leave the country and apply afresh to
stay in the country.
The 47-year-old doctor-turned writer, who will be
celebrating her birthday on August 25, is also trying for a
permanent residency in the country. Her visa is valid till
August 16 and has been extended by another year, official
sources said.
Her application for granting a permanent residency in
the country has been hanging in balance for years together.
Earlier, the government had said that Taslima`s visa
cannot be extended beyond August 16, 2010, as her travel
document had been issued under the category (miscellaneous).
Taslima, a Swedish passport-holder, had sought visa
under the miscellaneous category in 2005 and it has since been
extended initially for a year and later for six months. The
visa under this category cannot be extended beyond five years.
She had been conveyed that she should seek fresh visa
from a third country after which she could visit India again,
the sources said.
However, the writer community of the country and
intellectuals from other parts of the world had made an appeal
to the government for considering her case as a special one
and extend her visa.
Taslima, who has been in and out of the country after
she was dramatically bundled out of West Bengal in November
2007 in the wake of protests by radical Muslim groups, came
from London in July and was immediately whisked away to a safe
location.
PTI
