Srinagar, Sep 22: The High Court on Thursday directed the Passport Officer to consider the issuance of the passport in favour of Muhammad-bin-e- Qasim son of detained separatist leaders, Dr Qasim Faktoo and Asiya Andrabi.
 “Consider the issuance of the passport in favour of the petitioner in keeping with provisions of the Passport Manual of the External Affairs Ministry Government of India,” the Court said.
 It asked the Additional Director General (ADG) of police CID to file the verification report of the petitioner to Passport Office within one week.
 Counsel for the petitioner, Mian Abdul Qayoom pleaded before the Court that the petitioner wants to pursue his studies in Malaysia but he is not having a passport. “The objections filed in the petition by the state are not substantive in terms of law and the petitioner has the right to get the passport under the rules of the passport manual,” the counsel argued.
 He said in the objections the Government has a stand that the petitioner’s father, Muhammad Qasim Faktoo is a “militant” and his mother, Asiya Andrabi is a separatist who wants to secede Kashmir to Pakistan, which are flimsy grounds to deny the passport to the petitioner.
 “If the parents of the petitioner are in jail, why the government is depriving their son of the fundamental right to get the education,” Mian Qayoom argued. 
 Muhammad bin-e-Qasim has filed a petition in the High Court after he was denied passport by the government.        
 Meanwhile, Court granted two weeks time to file objections in the petition of Dukhtaran- e-Milat Chairperson, Aasiya Andrabi in which she is seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakhs as damages.
 The Court granted the time after the Government lawyer sought further time to file the objections in the case.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 IST