West Pakistani Refugees today took out a protest rally under the aegis of West Pakistani Refugee Action Committee (1947) against the indifferent attitude of the Government towards them.
Hundreds of West Pakistani refugees assembled at Press Club and then moved towards Bikram Chowk and after passing through Bikram Chowk again concluded at Press Club. In the mean time they blocked the bridge for about half an hour, leading to disruption of traffic on both sides.
The activists carrying banners and placards and raising slogans against the Government were demanding permanent citizenship of the State.
Speaking on the Occasion, president of the Committee, Labba Ram Gandhi said even after 65 years of Independence, West Pakistani refugees are deprived of citizenship of the State. They migrated in the State in the year 1947 but the Government deliberately fixed the year 1944 with a view to deprive us from the citizenship.
The Central Government had number of occasion assured the west Pakistani Refugees that their matter shall be taken up with the State Government regarding financial compensation and other rehabilitation package to be taken into consideration but nothing concrete has been so far, he added.
Gandhi said that since the Assembly session is in progress, he appealed the members of legislative assembly to make a bill having provision for defining or altering the definition of the class of persons who are or shall be permanent resident of the State/conferring on the permanent residents any special rights or privilege/regulation or modifying any special rights or privileges enjoyed by the permanent residents.
They also said that the special package of rehabilitation in favour of Pakistani refugees such as financial assistance and special recruitment drive for children of West Pakistani refugees as assured by Prime Minister of India in 2008 at Jammu has not been implemented so far and requested the members of the Assembly to raise the issue in the Assembly.
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