Tuesday, May 3 2005 14:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: Though the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service has herald a new chapter in Indo-Pak ties, it has kicked off a row in Jammu and Kashmir over the issue of granting rights to the property, left by Kashmiris who migrated to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the wake of the partition.

The controversy began when senior Congress leader and Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma publicly opposed the idea of transfer of property to those who had migrated to PoK in 1947, ignoring the resettlement law passed by the State legislature twice in 80's.

He sought the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir resettlement law, which provides for rehabilitation of any of the migrants wishing to settle in the State. To protect the property of these migrants, the State Government had set up the Custodian Department in 1947.

Since the opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, the department has received applications from a number of persons seeking transfer of property. Some of the claimants have even approached State Revenue Minister Hakim Mohammad Yasin who is not averse to handing them over their property.

"It is their property. It is in their names. We are only custodians. We will hand it over to them anytime they ask for it," Yasin said.