Separatists oppn to I-cards to refugees exposes their bias:WPR

West Pakistan Refugees today held a protest here condemning separatists for opposing the issuance of domicile certificates to them, and said their statements against the settlers exposed their bias against the Hindus.
"We strongly condemn the statement of separatist leaders like Yaseen Malik and Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani, who are opposing the grant of domicile certificates to us. We have been suffering a lot for the past 70 years," said Madan Lal Dubgotra, President of West Pakistani Hindu Refugee Front.
Hitting out at the leaders, he said the statements of the separatist leadership stating the refugees should be sent back to Pakistan was "inhuman" and exposed their bias against the Hindu community.

He said for the first time the state's PDP-BJP coalition government has decided to give identity cards to the refugees, which would help them get employment in central security forces and the central government.
"This certificate will not only help us in getting central government jobs and jobs in central forces but would also help our children to avail scholarship under various centre sponsored schemes," Dubgotra said.
The state government has decided to issue identity cards to the settlers and clarified after protests from opposition parties and separatists that it was not issuing domicile certificates.
Several other political organisations, including BJP and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, and refugee outfits have hit out at opposition parties and separatists for opposing identity certificates to the refugees.

The refugees, settled in Jammu and Kashmir, are citizens of India and have the right to vote in parliamentary polls. However, they are not permanent residents of the state in terms of Jammu and Kashmir Constitution. They do not enjoy voting rights to the state assembly and local bodies.