Leaders of all the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir met in Srinagar on Saturday for an all-party meet to reach a common ground with regard to the ticklish issue of granting citizenship rights to the refugees who settled in Kashmir in 1947, 1965 and 1971 from Pakistan.
Those attending Saturday's meeting at the high-security Nehru guest house in the Chesmashahi area of summer capital Srinagar include Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, senior Congress leaders Mangat Ram Sharma and Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Mehbooba Mufti, the president of the People's Democratic Party, Abdul Rahim Rather of the National Conference, who is also the leader of the opposition in the 87-member state Assembly, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, general secretary of the state unit of CPI (M), professor Bhim Singh of the Panther's Party and those of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Official sources said that the informal discussions also included fresh delimitation of assembly constituencies with the intended 25% increase over the existing seats in the Assembly.
Both the ruling alliance partners in the PDP and opposition National Conference have already stated their opposition to any moves aimed at granting citizenship rights to the refugees.
Jammu and Kashmir is the only state which has special permanent residents' rules under which no non-state subject can buy land.
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