Mehbooba Mufti hit the center in a tweet. (Proceedings)
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti, who was detained for over a year and is currently under investigation for a money laundering case, has been denied a passport. The 61-year-old tweeted today to say that the passport office has cited a report from the Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Investigation Department, which has refused to give the green light.
“The Passport Office refused to issue my passport based on the CID report citing it as’ detrimental to the security of India. This is the level of normality achieved in Kashmir since August 2019 that a former Chief Minister with a passport is a threat to the sovereignty of a powerful nation, “his tweet read.
The Passport Office refused to issue my passport based on the CID report which cited it as “detrimental to the security of India”. This is the level of normality achieved in Kashmir since August 2019, when a former chief minister with a passport is a threat to the sovereignty of a powerful nation. pic.twitter.com/3Z2CfDgmJy
– Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) March 29, 2021
The letter from the passport authorities attached to the tweet says that his application, made in December last year, was sent for police verification, but a negative report was received.
Mehbooba Mufti was detained along with hundreds of Jammu and Kashmir political leaders in August 2019, when the Center removed the state’s special status granted by the Constitution and divided it into two Union Territories.
She was released in October last year.
She is currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate in relation to a money laundering case.
The leader of the Popular Democratic Party or PDP has alleged that she is being attacked for her dissenting views and that the government is misusing agencies such as the National Investigation Agency, the Central Investigation Office and the Directorate of Execution.
After being questioned by the ED for five hours last week, Mufti alleged that anyone who opposes the current government was “persecuted for fabricated charges” such as sedition or money laundering.
“Dissent has been criminalized in this country. ED, CBI and NIA are being misused to tactically silence the opposition,” he said.
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