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National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah. (File Photo)
National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday called on Kashmiri Pandits who left the Kashmir Valley to return to “their home”, but said he did not think many of them would make a permanent return to the Valley because they are settled elsewhere.
“Woh toh visitors [ki tarah] ayenge. Mujhe nahi lagta ki woh rehne ke liye ayenge (They will come like visitors. I do not think that they will come to live permanently),” Abdullah said when asked about the return of Kashmiri Pandits.
“First of all, they have to think about it as they have settled everywhere. A number of them have grown older and are seeking medical treatment. Their children are studying in schools, colleges and universities,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a two-day party event in Jammu.
When his attention was drawn to Kashmiri Pandits observing January 19 as “Holocaust Day” and holding demonstrations at various places demanding that the government ensure their dignified return to and rehabilitation in the Valley, Abdullah asked, “Who is stopping them from returning home?”
“They should return to their native places and stay there comfortably,” he said. He also said there are many Kashmiri Pandits who did not leave the Valley and are still living there.
When asked about the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, the National Conference leader said that during his time in power, he had assured them the government would construct houses for them and provide all necessary support. However, after the fall of his government, the Centre should have implemented the proposal, he said.
Several Kashmiri Pandit organisations want the government to create a separate homeland for the community within the Kashmir Valley to address their safety concerns.
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The National Conference leader said attempts are being made to engineer a divide between Hindus and Muslims for the sake of votebank politics.
“This nation belongs to all, and it has unity in diversity, but if some people intend to engineer a communal divide, then who can stop them?” he asked.
Bringing up the withdrawal of permission to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence to run an MBBS course, where several groups had protested against the admission of Muslim students, Abdullah said, “Who are the people spreading hatred in the Jammu region…?”
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