Kashmiri Pandits our own: Mehbooba asks clerics to preach brotherhood

SRINAGAR: J&K ex-CM and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti appealed to Kashmiri Islamic clerics on Saturday to preach brotherhood towards Kashmiri Pandits, asked youths to stay away from militancy, and accused the Centre of creating a Gaza-like situation in Kashmir by oppressing the native population and giving away their resources to “outsiders”.

She alleged that the Centre was disempowering the people of Kashmir and snatching away their jobs and resources. She alleged that jobs are put on sale and all small and big contracts are given to “outsiders”—including the contract to build two AIIMS in J&K.

“If we lose hope and accept everything, then, god forbid, our position will become worse than the people in Gaza Strip who have certain rights... So, do not lose hope. We still have many things which we need to safeguard. Otherwise, a time will come when our situation will be worse than what Israel did to Gaza Strip,” she said, referring to the revocation of Article 370 by the Centre in August 2019.

She appealed to youths to stay away from terrorism, alleging that security forces were getting incentives by killing them. “I hear every day that three or four youths have been killed, which means the local recruitment here has increased,” she said. “I request parents and children to save their lives because killing you is an incentive for them. They (security forces) get money and promotions for that.”

Mehbooba said no attack on Kashmiri Pandits happened during her tenure as CM. “Moulvis should tell people in masjids that Kashmiri Pandits are our assets. Tell Kashmiri Muslims that Kashmiri Pandits are our own people,” she said in her appeal to clerics.

Kashmir has recorded several fatal attacks on migrant Hindu workers in recent months accompanied by a massive security crackdown on terrorists—which, according to her, doesn’t attest to the official position of terrorism waning in the Valley and normality returning to the troubled region.

Widespread protests followed each murder, with Kashmiri Pandits accusing the government of using them as “cannon fodder” to push through its resettlement and jobs programme for the community without making necessary security arrangements. The scheme launched in 2010 is for Kashmiri Pandits forced to leave their homes in the Valley during the peak of militancy in the 1990s.

The PDP chief said the government has created a tense environment ahead of the Amarnath Yatra, starting this June-end. “They are pilgrims and our guests and we have been hosting them for centuries. They have set up bunkers everywhere as if pilgrims are coming here for the first time,” she said, commenting on the unprecedented security arrangements for the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine. “Kashmir is known for its hospitality…they are our guests and they will always be welcome here.”

She also said the government is sacking employees in the name of corruption, but the biggest corrupt are those who are buying MLAs in Maharashtra and Assam. “We have also sacked corrupt employees in our tenure, but let the court decide if allegations against them were true.”

On the Centre's Agnipath scheme, Mehbooba said it was against the pride, hard work and spirit of sacrifice of military personnel. “(Veer) Savarkar wanted Hindus, the RSS people, to be trained so that tomorrow they are more brutal in their dealings with the minority community and others,” she said.

(With PTI inputs)

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