Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called for the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to look into the case of a 15-year-old girl who was denied a passport because her uncle was a terrorist.
"I have asked CID to look in to the passport case of Sufaira. Will revert with the facts once I have them," Abdullah posted on the micro-blogging site Twitter after the issue gained media's attention.
Sufaira Nazir, an orphaned high school student from Budgam, bagged a scholarship in the United States under the India-US Youth Exchange Study Program. The one-year program begins in the first week of August, but Sufaira was denied clearance from her own state in April, reported NDTV. As per the CID's record, her uncle was a militant who surrendered in 1995.
"I was very happy when I got to know about the scholarship but later I was informed that I am denied a passport. I really want to go to US," said Sufaira told CNN-IBN in an interview.
She and her family have questioned the denial of a passport despite the US embassy's approval of the scholarship.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told the news channel that it will be looking into the issue as well. "We gave passport to a similiar case within five days of State CID clearance," it said.
The J&K CM has assured that Sufaira won't be victimised for her uncle's fault.
"Needless to say she will NOT be denied a passport because of her uncle's past. All such pending cases of previous denials are being cleared," he further posted on Twitter.
