1965, 1971 refugees may get good news shortly
*Exercise initiated by Admn, Custodian Deptt
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 4: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has discussed with the Ministry of External Affairs the issue pertaining to allotment of Custodian property to the refugees of 1965 and 1971 who had migrated during Indo-Pak wars and got settled here.
“The Ministry of External Affairs advice has been sought as the property left here and in possession of Custodian Department belongs to the people who crossed over to Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and there is 1994 Parliament resolution as well as the Indian Government’s categorical stand that PoJK is integral part of India,” official sources told the Excelsior.
The Jammu and Kashmir Government is, however, confident that the proposal to grant Custodian property right to 1965 and 1971 refugees will be settled by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Sources said the issue is quite difficult because of the undertaking given in the United Nations but the Central Government, MEA and J&K Government can take a call on this. The MEA has been approached as PoJK, though an integral part of India, is under illegal occupation of Pakistan.
“An exercise to this effect has already been initiated by the administration on instructions of the Government. Since most of 1965 and 1971 refugees are putting up in Jammu district after their migration, the exercise has been initiated by the Custodian Department and other concerned officials of the administration,” sources said.
They added that the exercise might take a little time but the Government here is confident that it will be taken to logical conclusion and nearly one lakh persons, who have suffered since 1965 and 1971, will get their due with the efforts of Central and Jammu and Kashmir Governments who have been quite sympathetic to the refugees from PoJK, West Pakistan and those of 1965 and 1971.
The Government has decided that all such refugees will be given land rights which they were denied for decades together prompting them to lead miserable life. It was Narendra Modi-led BJP Government at the Centre which gave Rs 5.5 lakh compensation per family to PoJK as well as West Pakistani refugees.
The West Pakistani refugees were denied State Subject rights by the previous Governments due to Article 370 of the Constitution. However, after abrogation of special status of erstwhile State of J&K on August 5, 2019, the Government declared West Pakistani refugees, Valmikis and Gorkhas as domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir.
On their migration to Jammu and Kashmir, the PoJK refugees were allotted plots on their names as they were treated as State Subjects. However, the West Pakistani refugees were given 46,666 kanals of land on May 7, 1954 in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts but were not conferred with ownership rights as they were not treated as the State Subjects.
The land was mostly allotted in Pargwal island in Akhnoor, RS Pura and Bishnah tehsils in Jammu, parts of Samba and Hiranagar in Kathua district besides some other places.
Due to denial of rights to the West Pakistani refugees including State Subject rights, they couldn’t get the Government jobs and other facilities to which residents of Jammu and Kashmir were entitled. This discrimination was undone after the Central Government on August 5, 2019 scrapped special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated erstwhile State into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
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