Clamour grows for deportation of Rohingya from Jammu

Clamour is growing for deporting Rohingya settled in the Jammu region after Centre handed over seven illegal immigrants to Myanmar on Thursday.

"It is a very encouraging development and first of its kind. We hope that Rohingya living in Jammu are also deported because all of them are illegal migrants. They are not asylum seekers and they need to be deported back to their country. They are considered a security threat. We welcome the government's decision and hope they will remove Rohingya from Jammu as well," said Brigadier (retd) Anil Gupta, state BJP spokesman.

Figures present in the Legislative Assembly reveal that 5,700 Rohingya and 322 other foreigners are living in Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir. In a written reply in the Assembly, the government said they have entered the state on their own and are staying at various places in the two districts.

The government also said no Rohingya has been found involved in terror-related incidents. "However, 17 FIRs have been registered against 38 Rohingya for various offences," the government said.

"This issue (of deportation of Rohingya from Jammu) has already been taken up with the government. The Home Ministry has issued orders for biometric profiling. This will be sent to the government of Myanmar to negotiate as to when they would be deported. We will approach the governor administration for starting biometric profiling after the elections," said Brigadier Gupta.

Social activists, however, argued that the case is pending before the Supreme Court. "Our stand is clear that till Supreme Court decides on the matter the Rohingya should not be removed. There are refugees of three-four countries living in Jammu. But the stand on them is different. Why is there a double standard," said Waqar H Bhatti, a social activist who has been working on Rohingya issue.