J&K allows Bilquis Mir to travel for Asian Games coaching role after Supreme Court order
The Jammu and Kashmir government on September 15, 2026 granted Bilquis Mir permission to join the Indian National Kayaking and Canoeing team as chief coach for the Asian Games in Japan, after directions from the Supreme Court; Mir is a Physical Education Teacher. The order was issued by the Department of Youth Services and Sports and follows a Supreme Court order dated September 10 in her favour.
The Department’s notification stated: “Ms. Mir, Physical Education Teacher, is hereby accorded the requisite limited No Objection Certificate (NOC)/permission and is relieved for the purpose of joining and discharging the remaining assignment as Coach/Chief Coach of the Indian National Kayaking and Canoeing Team and for accompanying and assisting the Indian National Team in connection with the Asian Games, 2026.” The same official order made clear the permission shall remain “operative only for the period reasonably necessary for completion of the Asian Games 2026 assignment and connected official travel” and added: “No permission is granted under this order for any private foreign travel or for any travel or engagement unconnected with the national sporting assignment covered by the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”
Mir has missed two international events since 2023 because travel permission had been denied, and she responded to the latest development by saying: “I urge all to support sportspersons of J&K. I am happy to the represent India and will serve my country.” The Supreme Court on September 10 quashed the official order that had denied her permission, citing pending departmental inquiries and service conditions as the basis for its decision.
In 2023 Mir was subject to an Anti-Corruption Bureau inquiry following an anonymous complaint that questioned “whether she possessed a Bachelor in Physical Education course to become a Physical Education Teacher (PET) or not.” The Jammu and Kashmir High Court in July 2025 quashed the FIR arising from that inquiry.
Justice Sanjay Dhar, who quashed the FIR, observed that the investigating agency’s conduct “in criminalizing non-acquisition of a technical qualification by the petitioner when she has brought laurels to the country all over the world speaks volumes about the manner in which we are treating our sporting heroes.” That High Court ruling preceded the Supreme Court action which led to the departmental permission now being issued.
Mir’s officiating and coaching credentials noted in the order and reports include being the first Indian woman on the Paris Olympics jury in 2024 and serving as the Chief Finish Line Judge at the 2025 Asian Championship in Nanjing, China; she also once served as secretary of the J&K Water Sports Kayaking and Canoeing Association. She has been involved in training local boys and girls in various water sports since 1998 and has been described in reports as the ‘Aqua Queen’ of Kashmir.
The Department order specifically relieved her “for the purpose of joining and discharging the remaining assignment as Coach/Chief Coach of the Indian National Kayaking and Canoeing Team and for accompanying and assisting the Indian National Team in connection with the Asian Games, 2026,” and limited the NOC to the period required to complete that assignment.