Hyderabad: Ayesha Begum, a Hyderabadi married to a Yemeni citizen and a mother of four, has been waiting for over seven months for a new passport, delaying her reunion with her family.
Ayesha married Yemeni national Mohammed Abdul Rahman Mohammed Ahmed on May 31, 1998. She moved to the Middle-Eastern country on an Indian passport, valid till October 22, 2014.
Following the 2014 outbreak of the Yemen civil war between Houthis and Yemeni government led by then-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and subsequent worsening humanitarian crises, Indian nationals were asked to evacuate. Ayesha was among those who left. Like many others, she was issued a temporary passport by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh on January 15, 2025.
She returned to India on February 4, 2025. Once on Indian soil, her passport was allegedly seized, citing the absence of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for travel to Yemen.
On May 26, 2025, she applied for the re-issue of her passport and even submitted a formal representation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 11, 2025.
Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) Spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan has demanded immediate intervention by the Ministry of External Affairs to resolve the matter. “More than 60 days have passed but there is still no response from the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Hyderabad. Denial of a passport to an Indian citizen under such circumstances is arbitrary, unjust, and a violation of her fundamental right to travel and live with her family,” he said.
