The Hurriyat Conference Monday claimed the government’s decision to issue a passport to its chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and allow him to travel to Pakistan was a conspiracy to send him into exile.

“The government has issued a passport to Geelani sahib now,” Geelani’s deputy, Pir Saifullah said while addressing an Eid congregation at Sopore, Geelani’s hometown. “They know that Geelani will get an overwhelming response in Pakistan and making this an excuse, they will not allow him to return to Kashmir.”

Geelani confirmed he has been issued the passport but said he had no plans to visit Pakistan anytime soon. “I have been issued a passport for one year. But I don’t know why they issued the passport to me and what their motivation was,” Geelani told The Indian Express. “Taking a journey to Pakistan immediately is very unlikely. My health does not permit me to embark on this journey right now. ”

The government says that Geelani himself had applied for the passport saying he wanted to visit his ailing son in Pakistan. Geelani’s son, Nayeem, sources said, had been admitted to a hospital in Lahore with a heart ailment.

Geelani visits Sopore every Eid to address the congregation before Eid prayers but he couldn’t this time as he is under house arrest.