Omar Abdullah subjected to secondary immigration check in US

New York, Oct 17: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was subjected to a "secondary immigration check" upon his arrival in the US due to which he had to spend two hours at the airport.

"Another random secondary immigration check upon landing in the US. Thrice in three visits, the randomness is growing tiresome now," Abdullah tweeted.

In another tweet he said, "I just spent TWO hours in a holding area & this happens EVERY time. Unlike @iamsrk I don't even catch Pokemon to pass the time," a reference to actor Shahrukh Khan, who was "detained" in August at the Los Angeles airport, third time in seven years that he had been stopped by US immigration officials at the country's airports.

Khan too had tweeted that while he fully understood and respected security protocols, "to be detained at US immigration every damn time really really sucks".

Abdullah said he is in the US to speak at an event at New York University "but almost wish stayed at home instead". "Ah well, that's two hours well & truly wasted!!," he said.

He is scheduled to speak at the event organized by the students of New York University on October 21 which is expected to be attended by former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy.

PTI