Hurriyat opposes recommendations for settlement of Pakistan

Moderate Hurriyat Conference today opposed the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs for the permanent settlement of west Pakistan refugees in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that it was an attempt to tamper with the demographics of the state.
"The Hurriyat is extremely concerned by what seems to be a vigorous effort to meddle with the demographics of Jammu and Kashmir to change the facts on the ground with the eventual aim of subverting the people's right of self-determination," it said in a statement after a meeting here.
It described the Centre's move as "forcible integration and assimilation of the internationally disputed state".

The meeting, which was chaired by amalgam chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, discussed the recommendations made by the Joint Parliamentary Committee to grant Jammu and Kashmir "Permanent Resident (State Subject) Status" to refugees from erstwhile west Pakistan.
"The Hurriyat unequivocally and vehemently opposes the recommendation recently made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee. Similarly, the Hurriyat has taken cognizance of and vehemently opposes similar proposals that have been spelled out in the BJP's Vision Document for Jammu and Kashmir released in November 2014," the amalgam said.
The points which the Hurriyat objected to included grant of citizenship rights, right to vote in Assembly and local- bodies elections to the refugees, abolishing the custodian department and allotting the evacuee property to the occupants of the said properties.

"While it is the purview of Parliament and Government of India to grant the west Pakistan Refugees Indian citizenship and any economic concessions or benefits it deems fit, it has no legal standing or right to grant these refugees 'Permanent Resident (State Subject) Status' in Jammu and Kashmir or any rights related to this status, such as the right to own land or immovable property in the state," it added.