A number of parliamentarians on Tuesday asked the government to replace the term “enemy property” with a more legally-tenable term to deal with the issue of properties left behind by people who went t
A number of parliamentarians on Tuesday asked the government to replace the term “enemy property” with a more legally-tenable term to deal with the issue of properties left behind by people who went to Pakistan during Partition.
The country’s top law officer on Tuesday pitched for clarity and finality on the issue as he defended the amendments proposed by the government to the Enemy Property Act, before a parliamentary panel which met to discuss the issue before finalising its report by month-end.
Appearing before the Rajya Sabha select committee on Enemy Property Act, attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi said the amendments were required on a variety of issues to clear the ambiguity. The A-G told the panel that the Tashkent Declaration clarified that India and Pakistan will discuss the return of the property and assets taken over by either side in connection with the 1965 conflict. But Pakistan reportedly disposed off the properties left over by people who came to India after the war and did not pay compensation to the owners. Some members present in the meeting quoted him as saying that the issue of properties remained unsettled between the two governments.
He also explained the amendments made to the 1968 law through an ordinance which was later replaced by a bill, was now under consideration of the select committee.
