The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday said identity certificates issued to West Pakistan refugees did not make them domiciles of the state. The Mehbooba Mufti regime said media reports suggesting a change in status of the refugees were “false and contrived”, reported Hindustan Times.

The government said the false impression was being created to “destabilise the situation and hit the political and economic interests of the people”. “It seems an orchestrated and misleading campaign has been launched to create an impression that the government is changing the status of the West Pakistan refugees and they are being provided domicile certificates,” said Education Minister Naeem Akhtar.

The state minister said the refugees include people who came to India from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and West Pakistan after partition. He said that while refugees from PoK were permanent residents of the state, those from West Pakistan were not domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir. However, they are entitled to cast votes for the Parliamentary elections, though not for the Assembly polls.

Askhtar said West Pakistan refugees could not work in the state because there were non-state subjects. Hence, the state government had issued them identity certificates, similar to what already exists in the voter list for Parliamentary elections. “Issuance of Identity Certificates does in no way change the status of the West Pakistan Refugees and they continue to be the non-state subjects,” he said.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh defended the government’s step and said, “[This] Has nothing to do with religion, the nation owes it to West Pakistan refugees that they get a dignified livelihood.” He said the state government had only provided them proof of ID so that they could apply for government jobs, including military and paramilitary. He was the Union Home Minister was kept in the loop about the decision. “Separatists might be looking for excuse to wake up trouble as they are always looking forward to fish in troubled waters of Jhelum,” he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit president, Satpal Singh, also said the issue was never about giving domicile certificates to West Pakistan refugees, but it was about their livelihood. “As per agenda of alliance between BJP and PDP, jobs have been allocated for West Pakistan refugees by the Centre,” Singh clarified.

Separatist groups have called for state-wide protests on Friday in connection with the controversy. Legislator Engineer Rashid was detailed by the police on Thursday after he tried to take out a rally on the matter.