Farooq says the onslaught on Kashmiri Pandits is a direct attack on Kashmir’s essence

SRINAGAR, May 14: Farooq Abdullah, the president of the National Conference (NC), stated on Saturday that any attack on Kashmiri Pandits is a direct attack on the “very spirit of Kashmir,” and that the increase in deaths contradicts the government’s assertions of calm in the Valley.

According to a party spokesperson, the MP from Srinagar was meeting with a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits led by the party’s minority wing vice president Amit Koul.

“Every attack on our Pandit brothers is a direct attack on Kashmir’s very spirit.” I’m seeking for instances when Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits coexist.

However, the incumbent government is confined to only pomp and show. On the ground, no efforts are being taken to create an enabling environment for their safe and permanent return,” Abdullah said.
According to the spokesperson, the visiting delegation discussed with Abdullah an array of issues, particularly about those concerning the Kashmiri Pandits living in the Valley.
“They said those who took up government jobs as the first step towards rehabilitation were now struggling for timely payment of earned wages, promotions and a decent quality of life,” he said, quoting the people that met Abdullah.
“They also stated that despite political rhetoric by the incumbent government, it has done nothing to make them feel safe and secure across Kashmir. They said the bravado created by the ruling dispensation has done nothing to provide them respite from cramped up quarters, and discriminatory service rules,” the spokesman added.
Abdullah promised to take up the issues with the union territory’s lieutenant governor and the Centre, and reiterated that not only Kashmiri Pandits but also Sikhs and other minorities were part of Kashmir’s socio- cultural milieu, he said.
The meeting comes after terrorists killed a Kashmiri Pandit government employee and a cop.

On Thursday, gunmen stormed the Tehsil office in Chadoora and shot Rahul Bhat, a clerk. Constable Reyaz Ahmad Thokar was shot at a day later in the district of Cudoora. Later, he died from his injuries.