Mehbooba Mufti denied passport over 'national security' concerns
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said that she was denied a passport and termed a "threat to the nation" on the basis of a report by the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Criminal Investigative Department (CID). She also posted the letter of the Regional Passport Officer, Srinagar, on her Twitter account. Here are more details on this.
'This is the level of normalcy in Kashmir'
"Passport Office refused to issue my passport based on CID's report citing it as detrimental to the security of India (sic)," Mufti tweeted this afternoon. "This is the level of normalcy achieved in Kashmir since Aug 2019 that an ex Chief Minister holding a passport is a threat to the sovereignty of a mighty nation (sic)," she added.
Mufti had applied for passport last December
According to the letter attached by Mufti, she had applied for a passport in December last year. The application had been forwarded for police verification, but a negative report was received.
Here is Mufti's tweet
Mufti was placed under detention in August 2019
Mufti, along with many prominent political leaders of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was placed under detention in August 2019, as the central government scrapped its special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories - 1) Jammu and Kashmir and 2) Ladakh. The 61-year-old leader was released in October last year.
Mufti being investigated by ED in money laundering case
Mufti is also currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case. In fact, she was questioned by ED officials for hours last week. The People's Democratic Party leader has, however, alleged that she is being targeted for dissenting and the government is misusing the central probe agencies like the ED.
