An outfit claiming to represent people displaced from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has urged the Election Commission to allow the community to elect their representatives to eight of the 24 Assembly seats designated for the area falling under PoK which are kept vacant.
Rajiv Chuni, chairman of SOS International, has submitted a representation to the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi with regard to "defreezing" the eight seats in the assembly, a spokesman of the outfit said.
He said the representation has also been forwarded to the Centre, state government and Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir.
"The displaced persons from PoK who have a population of 13 lakh are given shelter at various places in the country. However, they are facing apathy of government because they don't have political reservation," Chuni said, demanding that they should be allowed to vote to elect MLAs of constituencies under PoK.