Shah Mohammad Rais, the basis for the main figure in Åsne Seierstad's bestselling book "The Bookseller of Kabul", is on the way to Norway to research material for his own book, a reply and explanation of how his hospitality to guest Seierstad became an international bestseller that has ruined his life.
"The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) reacted at once after reading Aftenposten. We have asked the embassy in Islamabad to ask for an explanation about the correctness of what appeared in the paper," said assistant director Morten Hansen at the UDI.
"There is a major chance that the visa will be cancelled if it is correct that he will seek asylum in Norway or another European country," Hansen said.
Such visas are issued on the understanding that the reason for the permit is a visit, and that the applicant will return home before it expires.
Rais claims that the book's translation into the two major languages in Afghanistan now puts him and his family in danger.
The UDI has learned that Rais and his accompanying family members have received an 80-days visa from the Norwegian embassy in Islamabad on Oct. 20, and that they plan to arrive in Norway in two days.
In two phone calls Rais said at first that he had not made a decision about seeking asylum, before he settles on the reason for his trip to Norway being a normal visit.
"We will have many problems because I am described as a very bad man in the book. I cannot risk something happening to my children but neither do I want to lose the business that I have built up in Kabul," Rais told Aftenposten.
On Thursday afternoon TV 2 Nettavisen reported that the UDI would deny Rais entry to Norway.
Rais has said that he still has plans to sue Åsne Seierstad and publisher Cappelen for libel.
