India trying to alter demography of held-Kashmir, says Yasin Malik

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik said India was plotting to change the demography of held-Kashmir by issuing domicile certificates to non-Kashmiri Hindu refugees.

Malik said he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life in a bid to spoil the very move initiated by the regime of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to Kashmir Media Service (KMS).

In Kashmir, the ‘State Subject Law’ has been in effect since Maharaja Hari Singh’s time because the disputed valley was rich in water resources with a vast forestland and the law ensured that no outsider buys property in the valley to settle, the Kashmiri leader added.

Malik said regrettably the ruling PDP-BJP in the held Kashmir was hell-bent on shifting demography of the disputed valley by allowing non-state residents, for instance, refugees to settle in the territory.

He said the PDP-BJP administration has a history of creating confusion amongst the Kashmiris by creating issues one after the other.

“First the government triggered controversy by raking up issues like separate colonies for Kashmiri Pandits, then exclusive colonies for retired Indian soldiers and now (is) again issuing domicile certificates to refugees,” he pointed out.

Chairman JKLF added that he would not hesitate to spill his blood to protect the ‘State Subject Law’.

“We will not allow any move aimed at changing the demography of Jammu and Kashmir. We will oppose all such moves tooth and nail,” he said, adding, “Kashmiri people can never be mute spectators on such moves. There will always be a tough resistance to defeat such designs.”