Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Monday that Kashmiri Pandits have the right to return and settle in their homes in the Kashmir Valley. However, he expressed doubt about whether the displaced community intended to resettle permanently, noting that they are thriving in various parts of the country.
He said the Pandit community has excelled outside the Valley, building successful careers and fortunes for themselves and their children. “They have grown older; many are seeking medical treatment, and their children are studying in colleges, schools and universities. They may visit Kashmir, but I don’t think they will return to live there permanently,” he said.
The statement comes as the Pandit community marks January 19 as Exodus Day, commemorating their departure from the Valley in 1990 amid the onset of militancy and threats to their lives.
During an interaction with reporters in Srinagar, Abdullah pointed out that many Kashmiri Pandit families never left the Valley and continue to live peacefully in their villages and localities.
“When will they return? Who is stopping them? No one is preventing them. They should come back, as it is their home. Many Kashmiri Pandits are currently living in the Valley and have not left their villages,” the former chief minister responded when asked about protests by Kashmiri Pandits demanding their return and rehabilitation.
Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits, under the banner of “Youth 4 Panun Kashmir”, protested and blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway near Jagti camp on Sunday evening. They were demanding a separate homeland in the Valley for their return and the passage of a bill in Parliament to recognise the killings and exodus of the early 1990s.
Addressing their concerns, Abdullah said he had previously assured migrant Pandits that the government would construct houses for them and facilitate their return and settlement in the Valley. He noted that after the fall of his government, the responsibility for implementing the proposal now rests with the Central government.
Also read: Kashmiri Pandits resettlement drive to begin on Jan 16
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