STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: The Kashmiri Pandit Sabha (KPS) Jammu has been constantly concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Kashmir Valley over the past three years ever since Articles 370 and 35A were abrogated by the Parliament of India on the 5th of June 2019, Notwithstanding the fact that the Government of India as well as the UT government have made all out efforts to go after the terrorists and their sympathizers during the past three years and the results are visible on the ground yet the ecosystem of terrorism is very much intact.
This was stated by K.K Khosa, President Kashmiri Pandit Sabha in a press conference here on Monday.
“Although the menace of stone pelting has been eliminated and frequent Hartals are also a thing of the past yet the incidents of violence and terrorist attacks have been on the rise especially in the form of targeted killings of the minorities and non state subjects for the past three years,” he said.
Khosa said both the PM package employees and the reserved category employees serving in the Valley for the past more than a decade are feeling extremely scared and their concerns need to be addressed.
Unfortunately the UT government has been ignoring their issues notwithstanding the fact that they have been forced to sit on protest here in Jammu for the past seven months, he said adding that the government instead of sympathizing with the employees has adopted a rigid attitude and wants them to rejoin their duties in spite of the loss of their sense of security.
KPS president appealed to the UT government to play a proactive role by engaging with the package and other employees in order to boost their sagging morale and mitigate their suffering by releasing their upto date salaries at the earliest. He also requested the UT government to take cognizance of the warnings issued by the terror outfits especially the TRF and track the source of these social media messages which are compounding the sense of insecurity among these employees.
The construction of accommodations in the Valley should be taken up on war footing to send a clear message ‘that the forces of destabilization which are working at the behest of Pakistan will be crushed with an iron hand, he said adding that the UT Govt and the GoI must initiating a dialogue process with the Kashmiri Pandit community regarding the formation of a robust return and rehabilitation policy for the displaced Kashmiri Pandits which will not only be denial of justice for our community but will also have an adverse impact on national interests.
Return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits back in the Valley is the litmus test of restoration of peace and normalcy in the Valley which has been the ultimate stated goal of GoI, he said.
The Kashmiri Pandit Sabha is also of the firm opinion that the gulf between the majority community of Kashmir and the Kashmiri Pandit minority needs to be bridged for the lasting success of any return and rehabilitation policy which needs to be formulated by the government of India in consultation with the community leadership at the earliest.
Creation of a conducive environment in the strife torn valley is the bedrock on which the edifice of any return of Kashmiri Pandits is possible and for that engagement with every stakeholder of Jammu and Kashmir is imperative.
An exclusively hard-line approach is not sufficient. Hard-line approach has to be restricted to hard-core Jihadi terrorists, their sympathizers and the other radicalized sections of society alone.
In the meantime, the amount of relief which is being paid to the displaced needs to be increased substantially till they are living in exile, he said.