PoK refugees observe October 22 as 'black day' in Jammu

On this occasion, rich tributes were paid to thousands of people who were killed during the Pakistani invasion of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947

Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) refugees on Friday observed October 22 as a "black day" here and paid tributes to members of Hindu and Sikh communities who were killed during the Pakistani invasion of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947.

The community members said at least one-third of the 24 vacant seats reserved in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature for PoK be opened for them to politically empower them.

SOS International -- an organisation of displaced PoK persons -- observed October 22 as a “black day”.

On this occasion, rich tributes were paid to thousands of people from Hindu and Sikh communities who were killed during the Pakistani invasion of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947.

Chairman, SOS International, Rajiv Chuni, said, “With the revocation of the semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir, thousands of displaced families from PoK were expecting their longstanding demands to be fulfilled. But instead of giving us the promised 'achche din', the government has become completely unaccountable to the long-neglected PoK displaced community.”

He said even the welfare packages started under the NC-Congress government in 2014 have been “abandoned” by the present Jammu and Kashmir administrations.

Half of the 26,319 displaced families in Jammu have not received a one-time settlement package of Rs 5.5 lakh so far, Chuni said.

“Currently, the post of Provincial Rehabilitation Officer, Jammu, doesn't even have an office building, staff, and funds,” he said.

“The children of the PoK families are yet to get reservations in higher, professional and technical educational institutions across the country on the pattern of migrant Kashmiri Pandits," Chuni said.

The decision to provide 8,500 jobs to the educated unemployed youth of the community has not been fulfilled either, he added.

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