Centre to mull over demands of West Pak refugees for citizenship: Rajnath Singh

23 September, New Delhi

Centre will look into the demands of West Pakistan Refugees including citizenship right in Jammu and Kashmir, Special package for their rehabilitation, right to vote in the state elections and allotment of land to them.

A delegation of these refugees led by its President Labha Ram Gandhi met Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi today and submitted a charter of demands.

The delegation demanded the appointment of Relief Commissioner for the refugees to look into and redress the grievances. During the meeting, Singh assured them to look into the matter and take necessary action.

He said his ministry has appointed a Nodal Officer to exclusively coordinate with the refugee community for redressal of their day to day issues.

The Minister added that Centre is working out a suitable provision to overcome the problems faced by them in terms of non-issuance of SC, ST and OBC certificates by the Jammu and Kashmir government.

In a statement, Home Ministry said there is no separate proposal under consideration to recruit the children of West Pakistani Refugees in paramilitary forces.

However, these children are allowed to be recruited in these forces without the condition of having domicile certificate from the designated authority of the State. In the wake of Pakistani aggression in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, about 5764 families who migrated from the then West Pakistan are residing mainly in Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri Districts of Jammu Division.