Jammu, June 20: S. O. S. International – an organization for PoJK Displaced Persons, today observed “International Refugee Day” by holding a strong protest demonstration against Pakistan at its headquarters in Bakshi Nagar Jammu and highlighted the plights of the displaced community.
Led by SOS International Chairman Rajiv Chuni, accompanied with Prof. N. N. Sharma, V. K. Datta, Ved Raj Bali, Bhai Ram Singh, Jagjit Singh, Daleep Chib, Dharamvir Gupta, Satinder Dev Gupta, Kapoor Chand, Jagdish Bhatti, Gouri Shankar & others the protesting Displaced Persons also torched flag of Pakistan, holding the neighbouring country mainly responsible for their displacement and consequent miseries.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajiv Chuni said that it was Pakistan that attacked J&K State on October 22, 1947 and massacred thousands of Hindu-Sikhs forcing the others to either convert to Islam or flee from the area leaving behind everything including their kith & kin dead or injured, movable and immovable properties.
“Whatever happened initially in Muzaffarabad, the same strategy was adopted by the Pakistan in Mirpur, Poonch, Gilgit-Baltistan districts and we suffered a lot by losing everything that makes one’s life worth living,” he recalled and lamented that since their migration, the displaced community was treated in most shabby way by the all the successive Governments including the present one.
“No one can find in the history where any displaced community except ours kept ware housed in filthy camps for the last more than seven decades that too without any help or aid from the Government,” he said.
Rajiv Chuni alleged that despite their migration happened 75 years back, the community was still labeled as displaced persons, a status which doesn’t have any legal entity. In the absence of Refugee status, we’re suffering badly because as a displaced person we can’t sought any help or aid from United Nations, he added.
While elaborating, Rajiv Chuni said that the Government of India does not recognize them as refugees as they were displaced from PoJK, which is legally a part of India and hence not eligible for any aid from the world bodies like United Nations while on the other hand, the community is also deprived of any benefits such as being extended to the migrant Kashmir Pandits.
“We being the human beings are entitled to all the fundamental rights available to others, but unfortunately neither the UN came to our rescue nor our own Government cared for us and rather threw our community as aliens without caring for our human rights,” he lamented and reiterated the demands for implementation of their Rehabilitation Package passed by J&K Cabinet in 2014, quota for the kin of PoJK Displaced Persons in Professional colleges and Government jobs.
The SOS International chief said that non-representation of the PoJK DPs in Parliament as well as J&K Assembly was one of the main reasons behind callous attitude of the successive Governments towards the plights of the displaced community, which remained deprived of its political representation in the elected bodies.
“In a democratic setup, one needs Parliamentary or Assembly Constituency to contest or elect any person of his or her own choice. But in our case, PoJK territorial Constituencies are laying vacant due to area under illegal occupation of Pakistan,” he explained and demanded de-freezing of minimum 8 PoJK Assembly seats so that the displaced community could get an opportunity to send their representatives in Assembly or Parliament.
Rajiv Chuni vowed to continue the struggle by SOS International for rehabilitation of PoJK DPs and announced that he would leave no stone unturned in getting justice for his displaced community.