17 Kashmiri Pandit families have left Valley amid spate in attacks
The Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS), a prominent Pandits’ body in the Valley, has said that 17 families of Kashmiri Pandits have left their homes in south Kashmir since May, amid a series of targeted terrorist attacks on the communities.
The KPSS said that nine families left the Valley on Monday.
“Today, 9 more families of resident KPs left Valley from South Kashmir. Since 05.09.2022, 17 KP families left Kashmir,” it said in a tweet on Monday.
KPSS president Sajay Tickoo said he will speak to the families. “I will speak to them (families) about what forced them to leave Kashmir after 32 years,” he said.
At least 17 people have been killed in targeted attacks on civilians, minorities and migrants across Kashmir this year. Of these, three were Kashmiri Pandits.
On October 15, a 56-year-old Kashmiri Pandit, Puran Krishan, was shot dead by terrorists near his residence in Shopian district. Terror outfit Kashmir Freedom Fighters, which is widely seen as a front for LeT, claimed responsibility for the attack which triggered widespread protests across the Union territory two days later.
On August 16, another Kashmiri Pandit, Sunil Kumar Bhat, was killed in Shopian district while his brother was injured. Police said the duo were working in their apple orchard when the attack took place.
Likewise, on May 12, Rahul Bhat, a government employee belonging to the community, was shot dead by terrorists inside his office in Budgam. His murder sparked several protests, with as many as 350 employees threatening to resign from their government jobs.
Jammu & Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha later said all Kashmiri Pandit Prime Minister (PM) Package Employees across the Valley will be posted at district and tehsil headquarters.
Seven Kashmiri Pandits have been killed in various attacks since the revocation of Article 370 – giving Jammu & Kashmir a special status – of Constitution on August 5, 2019.
Additional director general of police Vijay Kumar neither denied nor confirmed the fresh migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley.
In March, minister of state for home G Kishan Reddy had informed Parliament that 44,167 Kashmiri migrant families have left the Valley since 1990 due to security concerns.
Of these, the count of registered Hindu migrant families is 39,782.
Nearly 3,800 Kashmiri migrants have returned to Kashmir since the 1990s and 520 have returned since the abrogation of Article 370 to take up jobs under the Prime Minister’s package, the minister said in his written reply to a query in the House.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre had revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu & Kashmir a special status and bifurcated the state into two Union territories.