The meeting of the foreign ministers of Islamic countries will be held in New York on September 27.
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“Yes, we have suspended his passport for four weeks”, confirmed Regional Passport Officer, Srinagar, Firdous Iqbal. Home ministry sources said Geelani was planning to raise the Kashmir issue and “alleged persecution of Muslims in the Valley” at the conference.
“Geelani will try his level best to represent the voices and concerns of the subjugated Kashmiris”, Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar had said on Sunday.
The hardline separatist leader was issued a short-term passport in July this year to facilitate his visit to Jeddah to meet his ailing daughter.
“Both Indian and state governments are afraid that Geelani will expose them before the world community, and will aware OIC leadership about grave HR violations in J&K”.
Geelnai had accepted the invite from OIC to participate in its meeting in New York.
“Geelani’s passport was valid only till October 31 and by suspending it for four weeks, the travel document has nearly become invalid”, Akbar said adding it is a calculated move by government to bar the senior separatist leader from travelling outside India.
Besides Geelani, Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat Asiya Andrabi were also invited by the OIC.
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On June 5, Geelani had appeared before passport authorities and declared himself as an Indian while completing formalities for travel documents but insisted that he did it out of “compulsion”.
