Citing security threats GoI suspends passports of Kashmiri Journalists, Political Activist
Authorities have suspended the passports some journalists and at least one Kashmiri political activist, The Wire reported.
As per the report, they were termed as “security threats to India.” The Regional Passport Office in Srinagar has emailed at least two journalists and a political activist, among others, alerting them that their passports have been suspended under Section 10(3) of The Passports Act, 1967, the report said.
The passport authority is given the authority to seize or revoke an Indian citizen’s passport under Section 10(3) if it “deems it necessary to do so in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of India, the friendly relations of India with any foreign country, or in the interests of the general public.”
The email, which was seen by The Wire, also instructs recipients to get in touch with the Srinagar office, which is located on Boulevard Road next to Nehru Park. “Action will be taken against you if you are unable to contact us before the date as mentioned,” the message warns, as per the report.
Devinder Singh, the passport officer in Srinagar, claimed that some passports of people living in Kashmir are being detained due to “instructions from intelligence agencies.” “I’m unable to say how many people’s passports will be suspended, but we have received instructions to do so. Some of them have been informed about the course of action,” Singh told The Wire.
PDP worker’s passport impounded
The passport of a People’s Democratic Party leader, who is also close aide of its youth president Waheed Parra, has been suspended. Parra is among the many activists who was arrested for protesting against the abrogation of Article 370. He was restrained from leaving the Valley and joining a leadership programme at Yale University earlier this year.
PDP youth president Waheed Parra
There has been a continuous crackdown on Kashmiri journalists who have either been restrained from leaving the country or in worst cases, arrested citing “security threat to the nation.”
Crackdown on Kashmiri journalists
Last year, 29-year-old Srinagar-based photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo was stopped from flying to the United States at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. She was again restricted from flying to Paris to participate in a book launch and photography exhibition.
Mattoo is a Pulitzer award recipient.
Zahid Rafiq, another Srinagar-based journalist was not allowed to fly for a teaching fellowship at Cornell University. He has worked with The Hindu and Tehelka magazine.
Currently, about four Kashmiri journalists are languishing in prison under the draconian UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) Act. According to the Humans Rights Watch report, 35 Kashmiri journalists have faced interogation, physical assault, intimidation and arrest since 2019, when the Narendra Modi Bharatiya Janata Party government was reelected at the Centre.
