New Delhi, Jan 09: A day before he was due to go to Dubai, the passport of former Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was on Thursday suspended by the Central government on the ground that his travel abroad was not in the interest of the country. Invoking the Passports Act, the government suspended the passport of Mirwaiz for four weeks giving him eight weeks' time to appeal against the decision to the passport office in Srinagar. The suspension of the passport could also be a prelude to its subsequent revocation.
The action against Mirwaiz comes on the eve of his scheduled departure for Dubai along with his American born wife Sheema.
From Dubai, the two were to go to the US.
The action comes in the wake of the decision of the Centre to get tough with Kashmiri separatist leaders with regard to their foreign travel.
It follows the government decision to reverse its policy of being liberal in enabling the separatist elements to travel abroad and participate in conferences and other meetings. Several of them undertake foreign trips ostensibly on medical grounds and use the opportunity to carry out vicious anti-India campaigns.
Bureau Report