Srinagar, Jul 24: Jammu and Kashmir Awami National Conference (ANC) president, Begum Khalida Shah, has written a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, calling for urgent redressal and dignified integration of returnee families who came back to Jammu and Kashmir under the 2010 Rehabilitation Policy.Addressing a press conference here, ANC Senior Vice President Muzzafar Shah, emphasised the gravity of the issue, terming it both “a humanitarian concern and a test of governmental credibility”.The 2010 policy, jointly announced by the then Central and J&K governments, aimed to offer a dignified path back into the national mainstream for those who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in the 1990s.Over 450 families, all of them originally state subjects, returned in good faith—many through indirect routes after due facilitation by Indian diplomatic missions abroad.“Fifteen years later, these families continue to suffer in silence,” Shah said. “Despite their peaceful and law-abiding lives, they remain victims of institutional neglect, bureaucratic apathy, and at times, harassment.”In the letter, Begum Shah draws a powerful contrast between the fate of these returnees and the treatment extended to over 50,000 West Pakistan refugees who have been granted domicile rights in J&K.“If individuals with no prior legal status in the region can be given full rights, why are our own people, those who returned under a state-sponsored rehabilitation policy, still being kept on the margins?” she questioned.Calling for an end to stigma and suspicion, the ANC reiterated its stand that reintegration must go beyond empty assurances. These families must be treated as citizens with full rights, not liabilities under watch.The party has announced that a senior executive delegation will soon seek a formal audience with the Home Minister to press for urgent action on the matter, along with broader issues affecting Jammu and Kashmir.“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Muzzafar Shah concluded, urging the central leadership to uphold its commitments and give these families the closure, security, and dignity they were promised.
