Actor Imran Khan told to leave India after participating in protest

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MUMBAI: Indian aut­hor­ities have asked Bolly­wood actor Imran Khan to leave the country by the end of the month, saying he breached immigration laws after joining a protest against the election commission chief, local media reported on Thursday.

Khan, 43, is a US citizen, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Under Indian law, foreigners’ participation in political protests may be treated as a violation of immigration and visa rules.

A nephew of actor Aamir Khan and hailing from an illustrious film family, Imran Khan was given until Oct 28 to leave the country, the Times of India newspaper said.

The actor participated in a rally in Mumbai on Oct 10, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter list revisions that critics and opposition parties say favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.

“Apparently I’m going for a drive,” the actor wrote on his Instagram page on the same day, with a picture of him posing with a victory sign in the back of what looked like a police van.

A complaint was filed against him at a police station in Mumbai, saying Khan had breached the law, and the Foreigners Regional Registration Off­ice, a federal government agency responsible for tracking and monitoring foreign nationals in India, sent him a notice to leave based on the complaint, the Indian Express said.

Khan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Imran Khan acted in several hit Bollywood films from 2008 to 2015, before suddenly retiring.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2026

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