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| J&K born people face harassment in getting passports | | |
NEW DELHI, JUN 3
Being born in Jammu and Kashmir is a liability if you want a passport.
Thousand of Indians of Jammu and Kashmir origin, including those who were driven out by the militants, are subject to mindless bureaucratic hurdles in the name of security verification if they want a new passport or even if they seek renewal of an old one.
A Jammu and Kashmir-born citizen may have had passport for 25 years but a new one or renewal will require verification and clearance by security agencies in the state.
In most cases, the verification report never comes, particularly involving those who have left their places of birth long ago.
"I have left Kashmir 30 years ago. I wonder what they will verify about me there," said an applicant, who is settled here and is seeking renewal of passport here.
There is a feeling in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which issues passports that it is a "ridiculous" policy but says it was being done at the insistence of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The MEA has, in fact, written to the MHA several times suggesting that this policy of seeking verification from the place of birth be waived off, an official said.
However, MHA has refused to budge, citing security reasons.
Seeking information about any person who has not lived at the place of birth, some for decades, is a futile exercise, the official said. "We are not in favour of such things but since security reasons are cited, we can't do anything," the official said.
With verification being sought from Jammu and Kashmir, the issuance of passports to the people born in the state get delayed for long time.
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