AIP questions Demography Committee’s scope, says LoC displacement must be assessed

SRINAGAR — The Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) has questioned whether the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes can produce a complete assessment of Jammu and Kashmir’s demographic situation without accounting for people who left their ancestral homes because of prolonged conflict and shelling along the Line of Control.

AIP Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi said families from LoC areas had crossed over during periods of extreme insecurity and questioned what steps had subsequently been taken to facilitate their return.

“The Committee must answer a simple question: what about the families who crossed the LoC because they were running for their lives?” he said.

He specifically referred to communities from Jumgund, Machil, Keran, Karnah, Gurez, Uri, Poonch and Mendhar, arguing that their displacement should form part of any serious assessment of demographic change.

“If demographic correction is the objective, then restoring the population driven out by conflict must be part of that agenda,” Inam said.

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The AIP also questioned the Committee’s reported interaction with Rohingyas, arguing that before examining questions of population inflow, it should hear people whose lives and communities have been directly affected by conflict in J&K.

PoK returnees and documentation issues

Inam separately raised the situation of families who returned from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan under the government’s Return and Rehabilitation Policy. He questioned why some returning families continued to face difficulties obtaining civil documentation, including certificates and passports.

“If the State invited them to return, it has an equal responsibility to ensure their complete rehabilitation and reintegration,” he said.

Call to include Kashmiri Pandits

The party also called for Kashmiri Pandits living in Kashmir and migrant Pandit families to be heard by the Committee, saying their displacement is an essential part of the region’s demographic history.

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The broader argument advanced by the AIP is that demographic change cannot be examined only by counting those who arrive or settle in a region. It must also examine communities that left, the circumstances that forced their departure, what happened to their homes and land, and whether conditions and government mechanisms exist for their return.

“Demography is not merely about who enters. It is equally about who leaves, why they leave and whether the State has the will and mechanism to bring them back,” Inam said.

He urged the Committee to move beyond an office-based assessment and undertake field visits to affected LoC areas and displaced communities before drawing conclusions.

“Go to the people who have actually lost their homes, villages and livelihoods. Their story is the missing chapter in any honest assessment of demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.