Reports on a document entitled "State Subject Certificate of the Jammu and Kashmir" could only be found in reference to Kashmir, India (The Times of India 9 Jan. 2001; The Tribune 10 Mar. 2002; Express India 23 Mar. 2002) and not to Kashmir, Pakistan. An official at the Consulate General of Pakistan in Toronto stated that he was not familiar with such a document, further stating that documents issued to residents of Kashmir by Pakistani officials would refer to the region as "Azad Kashmir" and not Jammu and Kashmir (3 May 2002).

State Subject Certificates, also reportedly called Permanent Resident Certificates (ibid.; The Times of India 9 Jan. 2001), are issued to residents of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India (The Tribune 10 Mar. 2002). Only those individuals holding a certificate can own property, build a house, gain admission in professional colleges, apply for employment with the government, or vote for the Assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir (ibid.).

Reportedly, in the case of girls, the certificates are only valid until marriage, whereupon, if the husband is a resident of the state, the woman has to reapply for a new certificate (The Times of India 9 Jan. 2001). A woman resident of Jammu and Kashmir who marries a non-resident loses her "state subject rights" (The Tribune 10 Mar. 2002). On the other hand, a woman who is not a resident of Jammu and Kashmir who marries a resident of the state is entitled to those "state subject rights" (ibid.). A 10 March 2002 article reported that "it is under this law that several non-Kashmiri women, including some from Pakistan, have become state subjects" (ibid.).

A 23 March 2002 article, while stating that a family from Pakistan had settled in Jammu and Kashmir and that one of its members had even managed to get a job with the state police and perhaps even procure a State Subject, or Permanent Resident, Certificate, reported that "thousands of families who migrated from West Pakistan to various parts of the Jammu region during the 1947 partition, are still not treated as permanent residents of the state" (Express India). Further, one report stated that a Subject Commission of Inquiry had been established in 2000 "after the government was flooded with complaints regarding issuance of state subject certificates to persons from outside the state of Jammu and Kashmir" (The Tribune 10 Mar. 2002).

While no reference could be found as to when officials began issuing State Subject Certificates, a 10 March 2002 article, detailing complaints of allegedly fraudulent certificates, stated that one individual had been issued his certificate in 1944 (ibid.).

No further information on State Subject Certificates could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Consulate General of Pakistan, Toronto. 3 May 2002. Telephone interview with a representative.

Express India. 23 March 2002. "Not Indians But Pakistanis Can Settle in J-K." http://www.expressindia.com/kashmir/kashmirlive/kl20020324.html [Accessed 24 May 2002]

The Times of India [New Delhi]. 9 January 2001. "After Years, State Subject Certificates Cancelled in J&K." (NEXIS)

The Tribune [Chandigarh]. 10 March 2002. "Prominent Citizens Issued Notices: Commission Questions Citizenship Rights." http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020310/j&k.htm [Accessed 2 May 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Oral sources:

Unsuccessful attempts to contact National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), Pakistan

Unsuccessful attempts to contact Pakistani Ministry of Interior

The Embassy of Pakistan in Ottawa was unable to provide information

Internet sites, including:

BBC

Dawn

Dawn Wire Service

Frontier Post

News International

Pakistan News Service

Rediff

The Tribune

UN News

World News Connection

Search engines:

Google