J-K: Travelling abroad for many Kashmiris is a distant dream

The issuance of a passport in the Kashmir Valley solely depends on verification by the Crime Investigation Department wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police. This rule has left many people in distress restricting them from travelling abroad.

Srinagar:Getting a passport for former militants, separatists and their relatives to travel abroad has been tough in the Kashmir Valley as police deny them verification due to their links with militancy. Hundreds of former militants and their relatives are denied a passport by the authorities in Kashmir citing adverse reports by the Crime Investigation Department (CID)wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

However, in recent years this caveat has also been used to restrict the travelling of many prominent figures in the valley. Post-August 5, 2019, many former Chief Ministers including Mehbooba Mufti were denied passports after the emergence of adverse reports by the CID wing of the Jammu and Kashmir police. Mehbooba Mufti even appealed in the High Court but the court citing an adverse report by police dismissed her plea.

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The issuance of a passport in the Valley solely depends on verification by the CID of the police department. The person who is denied a passport file pleas in the court but very few are fortunate enough for whom court comes to rescue. Human rights activists say they too are denied the passport for unknown reasons.

Muhammad Ashan Unto, a human rights activist, told ETV Bharat that he and his family have been denied the passport and they are unable to travel even for religious pilgrimage. He stated that he cannot send his children abroad for higher studies. Advocate Shafkat Nazir who has dealt with many such cases said that denying a passport to a person for his past allegations is not permitted as per the Indian Constitution.

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Regional Passport Officer Bharat Bhushan Nagar said that the issuance of passports in Kashmir is done solely after verification by the police. A group 'Campaign for Right to Travel', formed by the people who were denied passport, said in the year 2010 more than 60, 000 persons in Kashmir have been denied the passport. However, a senior police official in Srinagar told ETV Bharat, on condition of anonymity, that the figures mentioned by the group were exaggerated. "The number is quite less than it," he said.

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