KL Report
SRINAGAR
Strongly opposing the proposed move of New Delhi to grant citizenship rights to West Pakistan refugees, Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) president and MLA-elect Khansahib Hakim Mohammad Yasin Friday warned that the proposal could have serious consequences as Kashmiris would oppose any such decision tooth and nail.
In a statement he said, “The West Pakistan refugees were never residents of Jammu and Kashmir and there is no legal or constitutional obligation to provide them with Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs). I urge leadership of the state to unite against this proposed move and thwart the nefarious designs of those vested interests who want to divide the state in the name of region and religion.”
“Kashmiris will oppose any such move tooth and nail and will not allow fiddling with the demography of the state at any cost,” he added.
The MLA Khansahib said Article 370 was incorporated in Constitution of India to maintain a distinct identity of J&K in the political map of the world. “But it has been reduced to a husk through political fraud and constitutional abuse. It would be in the best interests of nation that provisions of Article 370 which have been eroded from time to time are restored,” he said.
Expressing concern and regret over the silence of those leaders and parties, who claim to be champions of Kashmir cause, Hakim Yasin said, “Reality is that their only aim is to grab power by hook or crook.”
He also termed the imposition of Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir ‘unfortunate’, saying people have been disappointed at large with such development. “The governor’s rule in the state is no alternative to the mandate that the people of the state have accorded to the political parties during the polls. It is true that a hung assembly was witnessed in the state but the economic reforms and relief measures cannot be undertaken during the governor’s rule,” Hakim Yasin said.
“The onus lies with the parties having maximum numbers in the assembly to come up with the solution so that people would not suffer after voting in such large numbers during elections,” he added.
