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Fate of Punjabi refugees in J&K undecided

By Our Staff Reporter

Jammu March 23. Despite the promises of almost all political parties to grant them permanent resident status (PRS), the fate of over a lakh Punjabis living in Jammu and Kashmir remains undecided. It is now set to become an emotive issue within the coalition Government.

During the election campaign, all the parties promised to grant the Punjabi population, living in the State for over five decades PRS immediately if they returned to power. About 3,000 families, mainly from the SC communities had migrated from neighbouring Sialkot district of Punjab province (now in Pakistan) in 1947 and settled down in the areas along the border in R.S. Pura and Kathua. Only a person having J&K PRS is entitled to vote and other special privileges. In consequence, the refugees are not eligible for any Government job and cannot buy land, despite living in the State for over five decades. According to surveys done in the border belt, most of the refugees were poor, landless labourers belonging to the lower socio-economic strata of society. In the elections, the issue of granting status to the Punjabis was incorporated in the manifestos of all the parties. The J&K Congress chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad, says:"It is unfortunate that the community is being denied the right to vote and prevented from holding any office." The Congress was committed to giving them voting rights and other privileges.

Detailing the stand of the coalition Government, the Deputy Chief Minister, Mangat Ram Sharma, says: "The refugees of West Pakistan who are settled here for decades have to be given Permanent Resident Status sooner or later. They cannot continue to suffer and every political party is committed to removing their hardships. The issue is a humanitarian one and we are looking into it with all seriousness by studying the State Constitution. The coalition Government is committed to speedy justice to all."

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