Excelsior Correspondent
POONCH, Nov 3: Prominent Gujjar leader and scholar Shamsher Hakla Poonchi today said that the problems of nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwals compounded in the State after the militancy gripped J&K in 1989-90.
In a statement issued here, today Hakla said the Gujjars and Bakerwals being nationalists by core have suffered a lot in 27 year long turmoil and cross border firing over these years as majority of them are living on LoC.
He said the people residing on LoC being most backward are living in abject poverty. But they always fought for the national cause and rendered their services for the same right from Pak raiders invasion in 1947. They worked shoulder to shoulder with Army and security forces and many laid down their lives in 1947, 1965 and 1971 wars. Besides many Gujjars and Bakerwals were eliminated by the terrorists during the ongoing turmoil but they did not yield and supported the national cause always.
Hakla said these people have been worst hit by the ongoing shelling from across the border and faced lot of destruction after the civilian areas were targeted by the Pak rangers.
He demanded that the people be given adequate compensation and also efforts be made to bring these socio-economically backward people to main stream of development.
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