J&K govt kicks off registering post-2016 migrants out of Valley

The PDP-BJP government has begun fresh registration of the people migrating from the Valley due to threat to their security following the 2016 Kashmir unrest. 

"The fresh registration is being done for the people who have migrated (to Jammu) due to threat in Kashmir following 2016 Kashmir unrest," Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Y P Suman told. 

As per the reports over 110 people of Muslim community have been registered as new migrants after "proper verification" by a screening panel in February this year. The fresh migrants are examined at the Relief Commissioner's office for their registration as "fresh migrants."

An order to this effect was issued by Financial Commissioner, Relief and Rehabilitation recently which said "the Committee will recommend the registration of bonafide migrants who have migrated or may migrate due to threat to them or to their families from the militants."

The recommendation for registration as migrant would be made subject to fulfillment of all the necessary conditions laid down by the government for registration of the migrants from time to time, the order said.

At present there are about 60,452 registered Kashmiri migrant families in the country with 38,119 of them living in Jammu, 19,338 living in Delhi and 1,995 others settled elsewhere. 

Fresh registration of Muslims as migrants in wake of the 2016 Kashmir unrest has sent confusing signals to the migrant Kashmiri Hindus as the process has begun around the time the state legislature passed resolutions seeking return of Kashmiri migrants to valley, assuring them of honour and dignity. 

"The fresh registration of Muslims, who have migrated from Kashmir due to 2016 Kashmir unrest has sent wrong signals among the Kashmiri Pandits," All Party Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC) chairman Vinood Pandita said. 

Pandita said "on one hand the Legislative Assembly and Council have passed unanimous resolution to take back displaced KPs to Kashmir and rehabilitate them with honour and dignity, but now they say fresh migration of Muslims have taken place from Kashmir in wake of 2016 unrest in valley." 

This has proved our belief that displaced Kashmiri Pandit employees, who migrated out of the Valley recently after the 2016 stone-pelting incidents are not yet secure there, said the APMCC chairman. 

All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC) president Ravinder Raina lamented that "With each passing year, the migrant Kashmiri Pandits' hope of returning homes appears to be fading." "It seems the government has reconciled to the possibility of remaining Pandits too getting forced to flee the Valley by militants."

National Conference Minority Cell president M K Yogi opined that PDP-BJP government is befooling displaced KP community as on one hand the government has begun fresh registration of new migrants from valley and on the other side they are asking KP employees to go to valley and join back their duties. "What a joke is it," he added. 

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