Parl panel head flags delays in passport issuance in J&K, Ladakh

Jammu, Jun 22: Chairperson of the parliamentary panel on the Ministry of External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, on Monday said that they are concerned about some of the delays impeding passport issuance in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Talking to reporters, Tharoor, who heads the department-related parliamentary standing committee on External Affairs, said that they want the speeding up of passport delivery for applicants in J&K and Ladakh.
“We are concerned about some of the delays that have been impeding passport issuance in this area, and we have been raising some very strong questions because we want to see improvements and speeding up of passport delivery for applicants in Kashmir, Leh, Srinagar, and Jammu,” he said.
Tharoor said that they have held discussions with different stakeholders over the issuance of passports. “We already had very serious discussions. We had conversations with the Regional Passport Office, the MEA representative from Delhi, the police, and the postal department,” he said.
The MP said it has been a good start to their visit, and they have four more days in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
“We will see everything and then decide what to put in the report,” he said.
He added that the visiting MPs have found it a very meaningful visit and had some very strong and constructive discussions.
Tharoor said the committee is in Jammu & Kashmir to study Indo-Pak and Sino-India relations, as well as the functioning of passport offices and Passport Seva Kendras.
“I just want to make it very clear this is not a visit about checking conditions in the Kashmir Valley. The committee is here to study three issues: Indo-Pakistan relations, Sino-Indian relations, and the functioning of passport offices and Passport Seva Kendras. These are the only three issues we are studying. We are not here to look at domestic matters; that is not our business. We are the External Affairs Committee,” he said. (KNO)