Refugees rumoured to get domicile certificates

Mehbooba Mufti led government’s silence on newspaper reports that claimed the West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs) were being given domicile certificates as  residents of Jammu and Kashmir has brought the state on the brink of protests. The local newspapers quoted some BJP leaders of Jammu who confirmed that the certificates were being issued to the refugees and they would be given all the rights of a state citizen in the near future. The separatists as well as Pakistan have alleged that the BJP is trying to change the demographic character of J&K.

It was only on Thursday afternoon that the government spokesman and Education Minister Nayeem Akhtar told the media that although the government was issuing identity certificates to West Pakistani refugees, they would continue to be non-state subjects. The WPRs live in Jammu and they have been demanding citizenship rights since their migration.