Kamal Ghorui
JAMMU: Jailed Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid’s Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) said Sunday it had submitted an assembly resolution seeking citizenship and legal status for former militants’ wives and children who came from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under a 2010 rehabilitation policy. The J&K assembly’s budget session begins on Monday.Langate Shiekh Khursheed, AIP MLA and Rashid’s brother, said those who came under the rehabilitation policy continue to remain without citizenship or legal recognition, leading to denial of their basic rights including education, healthcare, employment opportunities and identity documents.The UPA govt at the Centre had announced the rehabilitation policy in 2010 during Omar Abdullah’s earlier stint as chief minister of the erstwhile J&K state. Omar had then described the rehabilitation of such militants as a “humanitarian issue with nothing sinister or dangerous”.Officials had, however, cited stringent criteria and said only 350 of over 1,200 applications were accepted. Citizenship for such families has been a long-pending demand, with PDP having backed it earlier.Addressing a news conference on Sunday, Khursheed explained the AIP’s resolution. “The resolution urges both the J&K govt and the Centre to grant citizenship or appropriate legal status, issue valid domicile and identity documents, and ensure dignity, security and constitutional safeguards for these individuals,” said Khursheed, the lone MLA of his party.Dwelling on other issues, Khursheed pushed for steps to ensure Mehraj Malik, Doda’s arrested AAP MLA, is allowed to attend the assembly session. Khursheed said he had personally handed over a letter to chief minister Omar last week requesting him to convene an all-party meeting and pass a resolution urging LG Manoj Sinha to ensure Malik’s presence in the House. Malik, AAP’s only MLA in J&K, was held last year under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) for allegedly misbehaving with senior officials during a protest.Khursheed said he had submitted another assembly resolution seeking transfer of all power projects in the Union Territory to the J&K govt. “This will help ensure cheaper electricity, strengthen power infrastructure and enhance revenue.”Khursheed lamented that he had submitted several resolutions in the 2025 budget session but none was taken up. These pertained to release of political prisoners, restoration of Article 370 and J&K’s statehood. “I am hopeful my party’s resolutions will be taken up this time,” Khursheed said.
