Srinagar, April 07: Iltija Mufti, the daughter of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, was issued a “country-specific passport” for two years, enabling her to study in the United Arab Emirates. Her application for a passport was not initially approved after an adverse report by the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in June 2022.
She moved the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in February, and after the court directed the Regional Passport Office (RPO) to review the case, Iltija has been issued a two-year passport.
Iltija claimed that the passport is conditional and only valid for the UAE, which was issued after the Official Secrets Act was invoked against her, usually reserved for espionage.
She questioned if she was being punished for being an anti-national or a militant and accused the CID of playing a bad role, criminalising basic things like passport issuance at the behest of the Centre.
Iltija alleged that she was being treated like a hardened criminal and was being deprived of her fundamental right to travel abroad. She believes that some officers of the CID were bringing “disgrace and disrepute” to the department, which was only there to harass and persecute the people of Kashmir.
She asserted that she would continue to fight her case in the court despite pressure to withdraw her petition.
Iltija stated that the government wants to make an example out of her family, so as to stop people from raising their voice. She said that she would not withdraw her petition, as it is not just her fight, but of others who have been deprived of similar rights.
Iltija criticised the CID for submitting an adverse report in a sealed cover and not wanting the document to come out in the public domain.
She questioned why the CID would invoke the Official Secrets Act if they were confident about their report, suggesting that there were no solid grounds against her.
Iltija claimed that Kashmir is on “auto-pilot mode” after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and people do not have the freedom to raise their voice, and they are jailed if they say something.
