JAMMU: SOS International- an organisation for PoK Displaced Persons (DPs) on Monday organised a day light torch procession on International Refugee Day at Tawi Bridge in Jammu.
Thousands of PoK DPs spearheaded by S.0.S International Chairman, Rajiv Chuni participating in the procession taking candles and torches in their hands gathered at Maharaja Hari Singh’s Statue at Tawi Bridge to mark their resentment over the discriminative approach adopted by Central and State Governments to deliver much awaited justice to them. While addressing the gathering at Maharaja Hari Singh’s Statue, Chuni said that they have taken out the torch procession in day time because the present government has completely turned blind and is unable to see even in the broad day light. “Our message is very clear that PoK DPs will not sit still until their demands are met and they must be given their due rights for which they have been struggling since long”, Chuni said.
SOS International Chairman further said that there is a particular reason to organise International Refugee Day at Maharaja Hari Singh’s Statue as during Maharaja’s rule before 1947, all the communities of the State used to enjoy equality irrespective of caste, colour, creed, religion etc. but under Kashmiri leadership rule, PoK DPs were treated with utmost discrimination and the same spree is still continue. PoK DPs have been struggling for the last seven decades but every time they have been denied of their rights”, Chuni said.
“We have been trapped in such a situation where neither our governments are doing anything for us nor we can go to UN for help. Moreover, PoK DPs lack refugee status because of the stand of the Government of India that the PoK is not a foreign soil, it is part of Jammu and Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan and they are yet to be settled and have been deprived of all the benefits given to Refugees according to National and International law”, Chuni added. He said that PoK DPs are still living with displaced persons status adding, nobody has come forward till today to lessen troubles, melancholy of worst affected community but optimism is still there.
“We will get our rights, PoK DPs are not provided with any of this status which restricts them to avail the benefits as per International Refugee Law”, he added.
Chuni further added that UN can help PoK DPs keeping them within the legal status of refugee or ÏDPs so that they can furthermore live their life with standard and grace.
Lalit Kumar conducted stage. Others who also spoke were J.S Mangal, Roshan Lal, V.K Dutta, Virinder Khajuria, Sanjeev Suri, Narinder Paul Singh, Tarvinder Singh, O.P Khajuria and O.N Raina.