The ruling PDP-BJP coalition in Jammu & Kashmir is confronting another contentious issue on granting passport to hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani who has sought permission to travel to Saudi Arabia to meet his ailing daughter. While the Government’s designated spokesman and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar declared it a “humanitarian issue”, the BJP highlighted the “anti-national credentials” of the separatist leader to thwart his foreign journey.
Geelani and his spouse along-with their son Naseem-uz-Zafar submitted online application for passport on May 14. On Monday, Zafar and his mother went personally to Regional Passport Office (RPO) here to complete formalities. Geelani was himself put under house-arrest by the authorities at his Hyderpora residence that prevented him to present fingerprints at the RPO.
Geelani’s younger daughter Farhat Jabeen, who lives in Jeddah with her husband, has been in and out of hospital for quite some time due to a terminal disease. The Government of India has barred Geelani’s foreign travel in view of his secessionist activities. During the previous UPA regime, he was allowed to perform Haj on a limited-period passport but the travel documents were not issued subsequently.
But, before Geelani could have showed up at RPO, the issue snowballed into a controversy. First a Srinagar-based spokesman of BJP Khalid Jehangir said that Geelani’s travel documents would be issued only if he apologised for his anti-India stance and declared his nationality as Indian. BJP MP Shamsher Singh Manhas seconded Jahangir’s opinion saying Geelani must apologise for his raising anti-India slogans in Kashmir.
However, the State Government took a different line on the issue. “The Government will deal with the issue of granting passport to Geelani at the humanitarian level. This is a humanitarian issue,” Government spokesman and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said.
The Central Government has not immediately rejected the passport application and indicated that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) would take the final call on the issue. “There is mechanism in place. The Ministry of External Affairs will take a call on the basis of whatever the facts. Government of India and MEA will take a call depending on all the facts and figures”, Minister of State in the PMO and Dr Jatendra Singh said in New Delhi.
“MEA will take into cognisance the issue and decide on it. I am sure that MEA will take a call on it. I am not in a position to deliver a verdict over it,” he said.
Regional Passport Officer Fidous Iqbal told The Pioneer that he has not received any direction on Geelani’s passport. He confirmed that Geelani’s son and spouse have completed their formalities at RPO and their application was being processed “as per the norms”.