Srinagar, March 19 -- Peoples Democratic Party leader Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi has moved a bill before the J&K Assembly secretariat for establishment of a commission for the safe and dignified return and reintegration of Kashmiri migrants particularly Kashmiri Pandits. Mehdi, who is PDP MLA from Budgam, has moved the private member bill titled "The Kashmiri Pandith and Migrant Reintegration Bill 2026" to be taken up in the J&K assembly resuming its session from March 27. The bill aims to provide for the establishment of a statutory re-integration commission in the Union Territory of J&K for the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return and reintegration of Kashmiri migrants, particularly Kashmiri Pandits. "This Bill seeks to establish the Jammu and Kashmir Re-integration Commission as a permanent statutory body with a broad mandate encompassing social reconciliation, trauma healing, cultural restoration, community dialogue, institutional guarantees of safety, and coordination of livelihood and housing measures. The Commission shall function as a bridge between displaced communities and the wider society, fostering coexistence and long-term peace," the bill states its objects. Going into the history of migration of Kashmiri Pandits, the bill states: "Beginning in the late 1980s and culminating in the period of 1989-1990, large- scale militancy, violence and intimidation resulted in the mass displacement of Kashmiri Pandits and other minority communities from the Kashmir Valley. This displacement was not only territorial but civilisational, rupturing social bonds, eroding trust between communities, and inflicting deep psychological, cultural and inter-generational trauma." It states that the efforts of successive government have been "relief centric, fragmented and survival oriented." "They have not sufficiently addressed the structural, psychological , cultural and reconciliatory dimensions of the displacement nor have they facilitated meaningful reintegration into the social life of the Valley," it states. The bill says that the prolonged continuation of a relief-only framework has, over time, led to dependency, marginalisation, alienation and hardened social silos, without restoring dignity, agency or a shared future. "There is therefore an urgent and compelling need to transition from a relief and rehabilitation paradigm to a statutory reintegration framework, grounded in constitutional values of dignity, equality, fraternity and the right to life with dignity. Reintegration must be understood not merely as physical return but as a restoration of belonging, safety, cultural continuity, trust and social participation, undertaken voluntarily and sustainably," it says. The bill states that the commission shall formulate and oversee a comprehensive and rights-based reintegration policy for Kashmiri Migrants. "Facilitate the transition from relief-centric assistance to long-term reintegration and reconciliation. Ensure that return, where undertaken, is voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable. Promote coexistence, trust-building and inter-community harmony and Advise the Government on institutional safeguards necessary to guarantee safety, dignity and non-discrimination," the bill states. The bill states that the functions of the Commission will be to facilitate structured inter-community and intra-community dialogue between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims. It also wants the commission to design and implement trauma-healing, psychosocial and mental-health support programmes in coordination with professionals and protect minority cultural, religious, linguistic and intellectual heritage. "Facilitate the establishment of educational, cultural and research institutions linked to Kashmir's plural heritage...Coordinate with housing, employment, livelihood and welfare schemes to ensure coherence with reintegration objectives," it says....