New Delhi [India], April 6 : Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's daughter Iltija was issued a passport with a validity of two years to pursue her Masters, following her petition in High Court.
She had filed a petition in the High Court in February. She said that she had applied for the passport in June last year.
"As per the contents of above classified document does not favour for issuance of passport to the petitioner. It is worth to mention here that this office sought detailed report from Spl. Director General of Police with regard to Charge-sheet and FIR (if any) against the petitioner," the letter by the government said.
"Given the circumstances especially that the applicant seeks to pursue higher studies (Masters) in UAE, this office issued passport valid up-to 04/04/2025," it added.
Mehbooba Mufti in February this year had written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar seeking his intervention in the renewal of her passport and said that she and her mother had applied for passport renewal in 2020 which has been dragged needlessly for three years.
In a letter to EAM Jaishankar, she said that her application has been pending as the Jammu and Kashmir CID gave an adverse response that issuing a passport to her and her grandmother would undermine national security.
"In J-K it has become the norm to arbitrarily reject passport applications of thousands including journalists, students and others by misusing national interest as a pretext. We moved J&K High Court and after the case dragged on for three years, the Hon'ble Court gave clear directions that the Regional Passport Office in Srinagar shouldn't operate as CID's mouthpiece by denying passports on vague grounds," the letter read.
She said that she was asked to approach the Passport Authority of India which she has done multiple times since 2021 and has not yet received a positive response yet.
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