Placeholder canvas

'I am not an Indian but still need Indian passport'

Date:

New Delhi: Hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday completed formalities in Srinagar to apply for a passport after the police released him from house arrest this morning.

At the regional passport office in Srinagar Geelani said, “I am not Indian by birth. It’s a compulsion that we have to travel with an Indian passport.” In the column for nationality, Geelani has now reportedly written “Indian.” There was controversy earlier over reports that he had left the column blank. The passport office confirmed that Geelani has duly filled his passport form.

Geelani applied for a passport for himself and his wife last month to travel to Saudi Arabia to visit their ailing daughter. Bharatiya Janata Party, which rules Jammu and Kashmir in partnership with the People’s Democratic Party or PDP, had initially opposed granting Geelani a passport, saying he should not be given one till he “apologises for his anti-national activities.”

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s PDP has however supported granting Geelani a passport, calling it a humanitarian issue.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said last month that the Centre would consider the hardliner’s passport application only after he completed formalities, but indicated that it was not averse to granting one.

“If it comes to us after due formalities, we will think over it. We have no objections,” Singh had said.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

IPL 2024: Riyan Parag Shines As RR Posts 185/5 Against DC

Jaipur: In a remarkable turn of events, Rajasthan Royals...

NIA Arrests One Key Conspirator In Rameshwaram Cafe Blast Case

New Delhi: In a significant development in the investigation...

H1B Visa: USCIS Gears Up For Lottery Selection For Fy-25

Due to a technical issue with its website, the USCIS delayed the deadline for visa applications for the financial year 2025 by three days from March 22nd to March 25th, 2024

To Browbeat And Bully Others Is Vintage Congress Culture: PM Modi After 600 Lawyers Write CJI

New Delhi: In response to the voiced apprehensions of...