Geelani, who earlier had a passport in 2007, 2008 and 2011, had applied for the same in May this year.
Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been issued a short-term validity passport, a senior official confirmed on Tuesday.
“Yes, the passport has been dispatched to Geelani,” an officer confirmed, adding, “After completing necessary formalities, a passport has been issued to Geelani. It is a short duration passport valid for nine months only.”
Earlier this year, Geelani had applied for a passport to enable him to travel to Saudi Arabia to meet his ailing daughter.
In fact, on June 5, he appeared before passport authorities and had declared himself as an Indian while completing formalities for travel documents.
However, he had insisted that he did it out of “compulsion”.
Talking to reporters outside the passport office, Geelani had said, “I am not by birth Indian. It is a compulsion.”
The issue of granting Geelani a passport had sparked a political debate with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu and Kashmir opposing it saying that he should declare his nationality as Indian and apologise for his anti-national activities.
However, its ally, the Peoples Democratic Party, had favoured it while former chief minister Omar Abdullah had said it was not an issue as Geelani had been given passport in the past too.
